Microsoft, trying to recover from lackluster sales of its Surface tablets, today cut the price of its Surface Pro by $100 in the U.S. and several other countries around the world as part of a temporary promotion, running through Aug. 29.
That means the price drops to $799 for the 64 GB Surface Pro, which previously sold for $899. The 128GB model drops to $999.
This latest attempt to clear the shelves follows an earlier $150 price drop for the Surface RT, which resulted in a $900 million charge against the company’s earnings last quarter. Microsoft is expected to come out with new models of the Surface tablets later this year, and it needs to clear inventory in advance.
Microsoft says the Surface Pro pricing promotion will take place between today and Aug. 29 in the U.S., Canada, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Unlike the ARM-based Surface RT, the Surface Pro runs on Intel processors and supports legacy Windows applications.
The company’s official statement: “We’ve been seeing great worldwide success with Surface RT pricing and keyboard-cover promotions over the past several months and are proud to offer Surface Pro at more affordable prices starting today. People who buy Surface love Surface, and we’re eager for more people to get their hands on Surface and share their excitement.”
Microsoft’s 10K filing this past week reported overall Surface revenue of $853 million so far, which was less than the company spent on advertising for Windows 8 and Surface.
