Microsoft Drops Surface RT Prices Again – Down Another $150 as Apple’s iPad Domination Continues

AppleInsider Staff reports that having failed to gain traction in the tablet market, Microsoft has cut the price of its consumer-oriented Surface RT tablet so low that the 10.6-inch device now costs nearly the same amount as Apple’s entry-level iPad mini.

They note that resellers such as PC Mall are now offering the 32 gigabyte Surface RT for $349, while the 64-gigabyte model is available for $449, which means that the 32-gigabyte Surface RT is now just $20 more than Apple’s entry-level iPad mini, even though the latter has a smaller 7.9-inch display, and half the memory capacity with 16 gigabytes.

And they observe that, regardless of price, Apple’s iPad lineup still trounces Microsoft’s Surface RT in dedicated apps.

Appleinsider also notes that last month, Microsoft was selling the Surface RT, which debuted last October with prices starting at $499, for as little as $199 in a fire sale was focused on education and students.

The Register’s Gavin Clarke notes that the reductions available through the Microsoft store in the US and through US retailers, Best Buy and Staples. Intel-based Surface Pros are not being cut, and that that one strike against the RT is that it runs a version of Windows 8 that’s been built for the ARM architecture and won’t run standard Windows desktop apps, unlike the Surface Pro machines which are full-fledged Windows computers.