Microsoft is trying everything to get its Surface RT tablet off the shelves. The device suffered a $900 million write-down against its quarterly earnings for excess Surface RTs in their inventory. As a result the tablet/laptop device will be marked down by $150 from its original $499 price. This means it will need to market its new price tag, and what better way than lashing out against its competitors?
In a new ad campaign, Microsoft stacks the Windows 8 Surface RT against its competitor, the iPad. Using the voice of Siri to point out some of the Apple's shortcomings in the tablet department.
The 32GB $349 unit is compared to the 32GB $599 iPad. The Siri-like voice says things like "I'm sorry, I don't have a USB port," while the Surface RT zips through photos from an attached USB flashdrive. The ad even goes as far as to conclude with Siri's voice asking the viewer "do you still think I'm pretty?"
The ads, while scathing toward Apple, are merely a marketing effort ot help the Surface RT reach numbers anywhere near Apple which has sold over 100 million units and has close to 50 percent of the entire tablet market, according to CNET.
"In a fit of both hubris and desperation, Microsoft is trying to make lemonade out of lemons. The pricing could sway some users looking for a low-cost, well-endowed tablet that runs Microsoft Office, but the requirement to learn how to use the new Windows tiled interface and live with a deficit of apps compared with iOS and Android will get in the way," the tech website writes. The Surface RT has 100,00 apps. A large number but nothing when compared to the App Store which can boast 400,000 apps for the iPad.
Below is one of the ads from Microsoft. Tell us what you think, is this a visible act of desperation from Microsoft or is it just the thing the public needs to get off of its addiction to Apple products? Tell us in the comments below.
