14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft’s 32GB flavor of the Surface RT tablet PC appears to have sold out at Walmart, although it is still available for purchase with a Black Touch Cover included in the package.
Due to weak demand, Microsoft decided to cut the price tag for the Surface RT 32GB tablet PC to $350 (€265), and it seems that this panned out for the company, at least when this retailer is involved.
However, the Surface RT 32GB bundled with a Black Touch Cover is still listed as available at Walmart, with a price tag of $449 (€340) attached.
As ZDNet notes in a recent article, Walmart is telling customers that the stock issue with this device should be resolved within a week or so.
Surface RT clearly did not live up to expectations, and Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer acknowledged this himself, though things might change soon.
According to a recent report from Strategy Analytics, sales of Surface RT should grow in the third quarter of the year, helping the company grab more market share in the tablet PC segment.
Apparently, things have already started to move in the right direction, though it’s yet uncertain whether the shortage that Walmart is experiencing at the moment was caused by higher demand or low supplies.
Earlier this month, Microsoft announced a $900 million inventory adjustment charge for the Surface RT models, but the company never unveiled the actual number of produced units, or sales figures for the product.
The Redmond-based software giant also confirmed publicly plans to release an update to the Surface RT during its fiscal year 2014, which began on July 1, 2013, though no specific release date has been provided as of now.
According to ZDNet, the company might be set to perform further price cuts to Surface RT – and to the Surface Pro model, for that matter – as soon as details on the second-generation devices are made official.
