Stefan Mileschin

Prices of Windows RT devices have started falling and according to Techworld it is because suppliers are trying desperately to ditch them.

Vole released Windows RT for ARM-based devices and Windows 8 for Intel-based devices in October last year. Normally prices would not be expected to fall at this point, but Windows RT devices were not in demand, and prices fell.

Currently the starting price for Dell's XPS 10 is now US$449 for a 32GB model, which is $50 off the original launch price. The 64GB model is $499, which is a drop from the original $599 price. By comparison, the price of the Latitude 10 tablet with Intel processors and Microsoft's Windows 8 OS remained stable at $499.

Asus' VivoTab RT has been seen on Amazon.com for $382 with 32GB of storage, which is a heavy discount from the $599 launch price. Best Buy, Staples and Office Depot have also dropped the price of the tablet by $50.

Newegg has discontinued the VivoTab RT and Lenovo is offering the IdeaPad Yoga 11 for $599 as part of a seven-day deal, which is a drop from the original $799 price. Amazon is flogging a model for $499.99.

Samsung did not even bother shipping the Ativ Tab to the US and saved cash on the stamp.

Even Microsoft stopped offering tablets like the VivoTab RT on its website. The company last month said it stocks its store with RT devices based on availability and demand.

So far the Vole has not admitted that Windows RT has tanked, this is despite IDC warning that Windows RT tablet shipments have been rubbish.

Jack Gold, principal analyst at J. Gold Associates said that the discounting was due to poor demand. He is content that he did warn everyone that RT was going to be poor.

Devices had no chance to compete with the more established Apple iPad and Android tablets, Gold said.

David Daoud, research director at IDC thinks the price drop might be pre-positioning for the summer season as it could help clear out inventory ahead of the back-to-school season.

But one of the problems is whether Vole did enough to spread awareness of Windows RT. It seemed largely pointless issuing an OS which was incompatible with existing Windows.

http://news.techeye.net/software/win...prices-plummet