According to a blog post by Ryan Lowermilk, co-host of the Windows Developer Show, Microsoft will soon be offering 32GB Surface RT tablets to K-12 and higher education institutions for the low, low price of $200. Microsoft’s been pulling out all the stops lately in order to boost the interest in its Surface RT tablet. Just recently, the company unveiled it’s giving away free keyboards for a limited time to customers who bought a new Surface RT. Microsoft also revealed that an upgraded version of Microsoft Outlook would be coming to Windows RT tablets with a subsequent update.
Just last week, Microsoft gave away 10,000 Surface RTs to the first 10,000 registrants at the International Society for Technology in Education conference in San Antonio, Texas. One would argue that this is more than enough promotion for a product that has seen less than stellar sales, but Microsoft is pushing its device one step further by offering a heavily discounted price to educational institutions.
By offering the Surface RT for $200, the company’s slashing the price by more than 50 percent (discounting it by $250, to be exact). Schools looking to get a little more bang for their buck can purchase a 32GB Surface RT bundled with a keyboard-laden touch cover for $250. Bump that price to $290 and the package comes with a type cover. If you’re an educator, the following link (PDF) will give you some key information regarding the promotion, as well as a place where you can put in an order.
Is Microsoft’s attempt to sell its Surface RT tablets at less than half their retail price a sign that it’s trying to clear its stock a head of a Surface 2 announcement? With Microsoft’s Build Developer Conference next week, we may have our question answered. Stay tuned.
