Microsoft, following the launch of the10.6-inch Surface RT in the China market, will launch the 10.6-inch Windows 8 Surface Pro there on April 2 at a retail price of CNY6,500 (US$1,045) for the 64GB version and CNY7,300 for 128GB, according to sources with Taiwan's supply chain.
Surface RT is priced at CNY3,688-4,488 plus CNY800 for a touch cover, the source indicated.
According to previous estimation by market observers, Surface RT and Surface Pro shipments to the global market would have reached one million units and 500,000 units respectively so far since their launch, but the actual volume for the two models so far is estimated at about one million units in total, the sources said.
Viewing that Microsoft has not placed additional orders for Surface RT, an estimated one million units of Surface RT remain in the inventory, the sources indicated.
Microsoft has talked with partners about developing second-generation Surface models, but those partners have generally been conservative, the sources noted, adding that Microsoft is inviting notebook and chip vendors to co-develop tablets based on Windows-ARM platform but those vendors have been reluctant.
