NEW YORK: Microsoft plans to bring some Windows 10 features to Windows RT users. Microsoft had confirmed 15-month-old tablet is no more available.
The cut-down Windows version was one of the big negatives for the Surface and came in for repeated criticism in reviews for the product.
It is based around the tiled ‘Modern’ or ‘Metro’ interface that everyone hated anyway, with no desktop. The Microsoft Surface Pro 3 which succeeded it is based on full Windows 8.1.
The Surface range has failed to capture the public imagination. Millions of units remain unsold, despite claims that it had ‘nearly sold out’, not helped by the embarrassing spectacle of CNN presenters eschewing the units donated by Microsoft as part of its sponsorship of American election coverage, and instead using them as stands for their iPads.
“We are no longer manufacturing Surface 2; however, those still eager to buy Surface should visit Microsoft retail stores, MicrosoftStore.com, third-party retailers and resellers for the latest availability,” said Microsoft in a statement to The Verge.
However, those eager to buy a Surface 2 are probably not allowed outside without adult supervision and aren’t permitted to handle sharp items like credit cards and scissors.
But that doesn’t mean Surface is a dead duck. In actual fact, it boasted $1.1bn in revenue in the last quarter of 2014, representing a jump of 24 percent, and is now actually turning a profit, reports Business Insider.
Comparing it with the iPad would be like comparing apples with, erm, not-apples, but it still shows that there is room in the market for Windows-based tablets.
This situation is likely to improve with the arrival of Windows 10 with its Continuum feature which provides seamless transition between tablet and desktop modes.
