You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Microsoft revealed its fiscal Q4 2013 financial earnings today, and the company raked in a healthy revenue, for which they even got to keep a nearly a quarter of for themselves, but it wasn’t all roses, however. Microsoft’s Surface RT took a huge hit, and the company lost $900 million just on the device itself due to “inventory adjustments.”
The $900 million loss is huge, and it comes out of Microsoft’s total Windows revenue for the quarter, but lucky for them, Windows revenue still grew compared to last quarter, as well as year-over-year. This means that Windows 8 sales most likely made up for the Surface RT’s poor sales over the past year.
However, Microsoft didn’t give specific Windows 8 sales or revenue numbers for the new operating system, but we may hear more on that in the near future. The huge loss for the Surface tablet comes just a few days after the company announced a big $150 discount on the tablet in order to increase sales, but it wasn’t quick enough to improve the situation before Microsoft’s earnings call today.
Overall, Microsoft raked in $19.90 billion this past quarter, and got to keep $4.87 billion of it as cold, hard profit. Revenue for this quarter surpasses the same time last year when the company brought in $18.06 billion, and revenue for the entire year saw another increase yet again compared to last year.
Today’s earnings is also hot on the heels of the company’s recent reorganization that sees top-level execs shuffled around and changing responsibilities. Whether or not that will improve things over at Microsoft remains to be seen, but it’s said that former Xbox head Don Mattrick left the company because of the changes.
SOURCE: Microsoft
Surface RT losses sting in Microsoft’s Q4 2013 is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Windows RT is a dog. We’ve been saying that from the beginning. We weren’t alone. It’s very hard to find a positive review of Windows RT, and more specifically, the nine-month-old Microsoft Surface with RT. And now Microsoft, in its latest earnings report, finally revealed that we were right.
The company took a massive $900M writedown last quarter because of unsold Surface RT’s. Even more telling is that Microsoft actually revealed this loss. It’s that big. The company had to tell investors why it didn’t meet Wall Street’s expectations.
Sadly, the Surface RT hardware is not at fault here. The tablet itself is actually a beautiful machine: sleek, solid and downright stunning. It’s hard to pick one up and not be impressed. The Surface RT’s designers and engineers should be proud of their creation. It’s not their fault.
Windows RT should not exist as a consumer-facing product. It’s a reactionary move against the iPad and the multitude of Android tablets flooding the market. It’s Microsoft punching down where it should have just walked away from the fight. While Intel is quickly bringing most of the advantages of ARM chips to its x86 line, Microsoft decided it couldn’t wait and built a product that ignored Windows’ main advantages of legacy software. The Surface RT was sadly part of the ecosystem that is predictably failing.
The Surface product line was a big risk for Microsoft. The company went all-in on a PC for the very first time. And in a way, it was successful. The Surface RT and Pro brought a lot of attention to Windows 8 tablets — much more attention than HP, Dell, or Samsung could have provided. The striking product line put a lot of consumer electronic companies on notice, especially since Microsoft — historically a software-first outfit — took on the task of creating their own first-rate hardware. These tablets are the standard for Windows 8 tablets even if it’s clear after today’s news that they failed to live up to Microsoft’s expectations.
Without the Surface Pro and RT, the Windows 8 tablet world would be as stale and lifeless as Windows 8 laptops.
All signs point to a new Surface line being announced in the coming weeks. And even with today’s news, it’s entirely possible that Microsoft will release a second generation Surface RT with a starting price point much lower. If anything, Microsoft is a company that does whatever the hell it wants even if no one is buying the products.
Microsoft had to eat $900 million last quarter in unsold Surface RT tablets, which might help explain that $150 price drop
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Microsoft’s first generation Surface RT and Surface Pro tablets haven’t exactly seen astronomical sales, it is believed that the company sold 1.5 million units combined of both tablets. Microsoft itself has not revealed sales figures. When the Surface tablets were announced […]
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After yesterday’s discount of the Surface RT becoming official in the US, Microsoft is expanding the price cut globally to various other countries, including the UK and Australia. Microsoft has updated its UK and Australian stores with updated prices for the older Windows tablet to reflect the lower price tag.
Each of these stores now as prices for the entry-level Surface RT at £279 and AU$389, respectively. The US price is at $349 now, which is a $150 drop from its initial price tag of $499. As for the 64GB version, that can be had for just $449, which is also a $150 discount from the original $599 cost.
Prices vary depending on the region, but retailers are also cutting the price down of the aging tablet. Both Best Buy and Staples are discounting the Surface RT, which Staples was the first store to discount the tablet. It’s not said whether or not this is a permanent price cut, but Microsoft’s website doesn’t say otherwise.
The Surface RT hasn’t been the most popular tablet, especially with the newer Surface Pro releasing earlier this year. The Pro seemed like Microsoft’s efforts to cover up the Surface RT, giving users a full desktop experience with the Surface Pro, but it seems they’re still wanting to sell them, considering that numbers have been low for the company.
The price cut could also mean a second-generation Surface tablet is on the way. We’ve already heard several rumors of a refreshed Surface slate that could be arriving this year, and while it was tipped that we would see it at Microsoft’s BUILD conference last month, there’s still time for the company to release a second-gen model before the year’s end.
Surface RT cut goes global as Microsoft chases sales is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Microsoft’s Surface RT is hardly the world’s most popular tablet, but the software giant clearly wants to create some momentum for its aging Windows 8 slate. MS just dropped the device’s price to $349, representing a $150 decrease for the 32GB model. Staples was the first reported retailer with slashed pricing — the tablet went on sale there yesterday — and Microsoft’s UK and Australian online stores have followed up with pricing of £279 and AU$389, respectively. The new MSRP appears to be live on at least three continents, and you can take advantage at our source links just below.
Filed under: Tablets, Microsoft
Via: The Verge
An iWatch may still be a distant dream
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Microsoft’s Surface team has taken on development of the company’s upcoming smartwatch, it’s reported, with the wrist-worn gadget supposedly running a modified version of Windows 8. The Surface smartwatch is being built on an original design by the Xbox team, The Verge‘s sources claim, which had been tinkering with a “Joule” heart-rate monitor prototype for the Xbox 360.
Speculation as to the capabilities of the watch have varied, though Microsoft is believed to be making its wearable more functional than some of the existing designs we’ve seen. A modified version of Windows 8 is an ambitious strategy, where existing alternatives like Pebble are more accurately remote displays for the user’s phone.
According to the leaks, the Surface smartwatch is intended to be integrated with other Windows-powered devices, which presumably means both Windows 8 on desktops, notebooks, and tablets, and Windows Phone on handsets. Already suggested is a 1.5-inch display, making the watch bigger than Pebble and other options.
Meanwhile, there’s also talk of customization support with different colored watchbands. AmongTech claimed last week that Microsoft would offer red, blue, yellow, black, white, and grey straps, something The Verge says it has independently confirmed.
Still in the air are other suggestions from the site’s sources, which include a casing made of Oxynitride Aluminum that, as well as being tougher than glass, is also transparent, and both 6GB of storage and integrated LTE. The latter seems a tall order, given the power consumption of 4G radios and the minimal space for batteries in smartwatches, though it’s said to be part of Microsoft’s attempt to integrate the Surface watch with its various cloud services.
One workaround to the power issue is Microsoft making the smartwatch particularly easy to recharge, something implied by rumors back in April that it would use the magnetic Surface connector already used on the detachable keyboards.
Microsoft isn’t the only company believed to be working on a smartwatch. Intel has confirmed it has a design in R&D, while Dell too has said it is investing in wearables.
Most frequently rumored, however, is the Apple iWatch, which is believed to be the Cupertino firm’s attempt to bring iOS to the wrist. That, however, isn’t expected to launch until sometime in 2014.
Surface smartwatch tipped to clad tweaked-Windows in transparent metal is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Following the significant price cut Microsoft’s Surface RT received in the US recently, its cost has begun dropping in other regions, too. In the UK, Redmond’s official online store is selling the 32GB model for £279 (down from £399) and the tablet with 64GB of storage for £359 (reduced from £479) — adding £80 to those prices will get you the Touch Cover bundle. UK retailers John Lewis and PC World are offering the same discounts (although the latter is £0.99 more expensive across the board), and Microsoft’s Australian store is knocking up to 180 Aussie dollars off the tablets and cover bundles. We imagine all countries the RT ships to will follow suit if they haven’t already, so check your local MS store for confirmation. Meanwhile, it’s hard to escape the feeling that RT as a whole has been overtaken by full-fledged Windows 8 machines.
[Thanks, Erik]
Filed under: Tablets, Microsoft
Via: TechRadar
Source: MS store (UK), MS store (Australia), PC World, John Lewis
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