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Microsoft built too many Surface RTs, says CEO

Jordan O'Brien
July 26, 2013

It looks like Microsoft overestimated how many units it would shift of the Surface RT tablet, after the company’s CEO  admitted it had made too many at an internal town hall event.

Both Steve Ballmer and COO Kevin Turner acknowledged the $900m write-off that was recently announced in the company’s fiscal report, admitting that “we built a few more devices than we could sell.”

Whilst Ballmer was disappointed with Surface and Windows sales as a whole, he did say that the company was working on the next generation Surface, which according to Neowin’s sources is already in testing.

The second generation Surface is said to come with many “technical improvements” including the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor — something which should age far more slowly than the already out of date NVIDIA Tegra 3.

Ballmer is also reportedly to have said that its Windows Phone team were still focused on securing Instagram on its mobile platform, a hole that has only been filled by third party alternatives.

Although the company is also planning on focusing more on services, as software revenues continue to dwindle.

About the Author

Jordan O'Brien

Technology Journalist with an unhealthy obsession with trains and American TV. Attempts satire far too often. (+44) 020 7324 3502

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