Windows RT fail: less than half the projected shipments achieved

While Microsoft has announced that Windows 8 is a success, the company seems to see lower than expected sales for Windows RT, the tablet version of Windows 8.  The information comes from Taiwanese supply chain makers. According to them only 2 million Windows RT devices have been shipped while Microsoft hoped to have sold more than 4 million by now. Many of the tablets seem to be still at distributors and in stores as the Taiwanese sources estimate that only 1 million devices have actually been sold.

Reasons for the lower than expected sales are likely the relative high price, the lack of Windows RT applications and the introduction of Microsoft’s own device, the Surface tablet which brought the company in direct competition with its hardware partners. Prices might go down as Microsoft has announced it will soon start shipping a Windows 8 based Surface tablet and retailers likely want to clear their inventories.

Microsoft has been trying to get more vendors to launch Windows RT products by offering incentives, but so far only a handful companies have released Windows RT devices.

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