rt

Microsoft is making a reduced-price version of its ARM-based Surface RT tablet/notebook available directly to schools and universities for two months this summer.

The "Microsoft Surface for education limited-time offer" will be available between June 24 and August 31, a spokesperson said Tuesday. Under the program, Surface RTs without keyboards will go for $199 (retail price is $499). With a touch keyboard, the discounted price is $249 (retail price is $599), and with a type keyboard the discounted price is $289 (retail price is $629).

The offer is available directly from Microsoft to K-12 and higher-education institutions. … Read more

Consumers who own tablets running Microsoft's Windows RT operating system will get a new version of the software giant's widely used e-mail program, Outlook 2013 RT, later this year.

At the Computex computer trade show in Taiwan, Microsoft said Wednesday that the e-mail program will be included as part of the Windows 8.1 update announced last month. Outlook 2013 RT will be available as a free update for tablets running Windows RT, the scaled-down version of Windows 8, and will be included in Windows RT devices going forward.

When Microsoft rolled out Windows RT last year, it … Read more

Acer Chairman J.T. Wang has a hard time saying anything nice about Microsoft's Windows RT.

Speaking to The Wall Street Journal in an interview published Monday, Wang said he's not sure Windows RT is "so influential anymore," adding that his company has "not decided if we want to launch [a Windows RT-based device], to start mass production."

Microsoft offered up Windows RT last year to placate device makers that were delivering tablets on ARM-based chips. The trouble is, Windows RT is incompatible with key software solutions that were designed for its standard operating … Read more

Microsoft may trim the prices it charges tablet vendors for Windows RT.

Citing "people with knowledge of the matter," Bloomberg reported Monday that the price cuts would be aimed at Windows RT running on smaller tablets. The goal is to prod more manufacturers to launch Windows RT devices, which haven't exactly seen blockbuster sales.

The new pricing is confidential, Bloomberg's sources said. But any drop in the cost of Windows RT for vendors would trigger lower prices for tablet consumers.

"You need more breadth of equipment manufacturers making the devices, you need lower prices, you … Read more

Microsoft is trying to drum up sales of its Surface RT tablet by kicking in a free cover.

For a limited time starting May 31, Microsoft will throw in a free Touch Cover, Touch Cover Limited Edition, or Type Cover to folks in the U.S. and Canada who buy a Surface RT tablet. Adding a Touch Cover to the purchase normally brings the overall price up by $100, while the cover itself costs $119 separately. The Touch Cover Limited Edition and Type Cover each costs $129 on their own.

The Touch Cover is available in cyan, red, magenta, white, … Read more

Remember late last year when there was a rumor that HTC would be getting into the Windows RT tablet game with 7- and 12-inch versions? Well, Bloomberg is reporting that the 12-inch slate has been scrapped.

Bloomberg's source disclosed that the tablet would have cost HTC too much and the weak demand for RT tablets meant that the company had to be more selective about the products it brings to the market.

Instead, the focus will be on two 7-inch tablets -- one running RT, and the other Android. Both devices will be launched at the same time in … Read more

Microsoft's "iPad vs. Windows" campaign now includes iPad vs. Surface RT. Is Microsoft picking the right fight?

On the back of new ads that zero on the iPad's (purported) weaknesses, Microsoft has thrown up a comparison page that stacks the iPad against four Windows 8 tablets.

Microsoft isn't using the Surface RT in the anti-iPad ads. Rather, the Asus VivoTab is its weapon of choice.

But Surface RT is front and center on the comparison page. One small problem: the (highly-selective) Microsoft feature chart doesn't necessarily portray Surface RT as the clear winner (see … Read more

We know a smaller Surface product is likely in the works. But exactly how small isn't clear.

Digitimes has chimed in again claiming, this time, Microsoft will launch an 8-inch Surface tablet in June, citing sources at component suppliers.

"Microsoft will launch an 8-inch Surface tablet in June and a 10.x-inch model as early as the third quarter of 2013," Digitimes said.

The display for the 8-inch model will be supplied by Samsung, according to the report.

This differs from what DisplaySearch told CNET earlier this month: a future Microsoft tablet is expected to sport a … Read more

Wondering whether to buy a Windows RT tablet? The status of RT at retail may be a good guide.

As of Wednesday evening, the Microsoft store listed no Windows RT tablets aside from Microsoft's own Surface RT. Tablets like the Asus VivoTab RT are no longer listed (though the Intel-based VivoTab is on the site). Even Dell's XPS 10 -- reduced this week to $299.99 -- is absent.

On the other hand, the store lists more than a dozen Windows 8 tablets based on either Intel Core processors or Intel's Atom chip.

On Tuesday, Microsoft Chief … Read more