Microsoft sold 1.5 million Surface tablets so far, 400,000 of those being Surface Pro
By Vlad Bobleanta on 15 Mar 13Microsoft has so far sold around 1.5 million Surface tablets in total, with 400,000 of those being Surface Pro units. That’s not incredibly exciting, considering that the Surface RT model has been around since the end of October 2012. Things do seem to be looking better for the Surface Pro, managing that amount of sales in little over a month of availability.
But Microsoft has apparently ordered 3 million Surface RTs, so the company is sitting on some heavy stocks. Back in November, we heard a rumor that Microsoft cut the orders for the Surface RT in half, so one has to wonder – the 3 million figure, is that from before or after this cut?
Microsoft is trying to “rejigger” its marketing for the Surface RT, according to “two people familiar with the company”. These are probably different from the three anonymous people who are the sources for the sales numbers you’ve just read. So that may help in the future. What could also help would be for Microsoft to actually start pushing its tablets to more retail channels and more countries. For a while, the Surface RT was only available in Microsoft’s own stores in the US. That’s not a solid strategy of getting a product in front of as many prospective customers as possible.
So things might be better for the Surface line in the next few months, but not by much. For now, it seems that Microsoft’s first foray into the tablet business hasn’t been all that successful. But who knows – maybe the Surface 2 will change all that.
Via Bloomberg
If you liked the post, you might find these interesting too:
- Surface RT orders cut in half by Microsoft, Surface Pro may arrive in December
- 7″ to 9″ second-gen Microsoft Surface tablets reportedly getting announced in June
- Microsoft Surface prices to be above $599, rumor claims
- Microsoft Surface and where Steve Ballmer should call up Tim Cook and thank him. Then apologize
- Microsoft Surface Pro release date may be January 26. Or January 29. Or January 30
« Microsoft fixes Windows Phone 7.8 live tile issues in new version that’s rolling out nowHTC Desire X getting Android Jelly Bean update soon? »
