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"When Microsoft announced its Q4 2013 earnings Thursday, it included a jaw-dropping $900 million charge related to its Surface RT.\nThe charge comes just days after Microsoft cut the price of the Surface RT tablet by $150. Since its release in the fall of 2012, Microsoft has struggled to get users to understand the value of the Windows RT-based tablet. Meanwhile, the company has had much more success with the Surface Pro.\nSee also: The Problem With Windows 8\nDuring its earnings call, Microsoft CFO Amy Hood said that the price decrease will \"accelerate Surface RT adoption and position us for better success.\"\nA year ago, when Microsoft unveiled Surface, it looked like it might be a great product \u2014 something that would allow Microsoft to compete directly with the iPad and Android tablets.\nOne year later, Surface RT is responsible for nearly $1 billion in charges and Windows 8 has failed to take off with consumers.\nHow did we get here? Why did the Surface RT fail?\nA Confusing Name and a Confusing OS\nThe Surface RT \u2014 and Windows RT in general \u2014 continue to be tremendously confusing products to consumers. Back in April 2012, Mashable Tech Editor Pete Pachal lamented the terribleness of the Windows RT name. He was right. \nNot only is the name problematic \u2014 the fact that Windows RT still contains the non-Artist-Formerly-Known-as-Metro interface is jarring too. With Surface RT, Microsoft could have gone with the \"Microsoft design language\"-only interface, eschewing the regular desktop. This would have been a nice differentiator between the Surface RT and Surface Pro. Instead, you had two systems (and operating systems) that look the same and run some of the same apps, but aren't the same.\nI had an interesting conversation on Twitter with some of my fellow tech writers about the branding behind Windows RT. We all agree that it has remained a significant barrier for consumers because some Windows apps will work, but older so-called \"legacy\" apps won't.\nIt's possible that with Windows 8.1, Microsoft could fix some of these problems and make the difference between Windows RT and Windows 8 more clear. By the time that happens, however, will anyone care?\nMicrosoft is already having to do a lot of backtracking with Windows 8.1. I'm not sure if even a price cut can be enough to convince buyers to try out a Surface RT.\nWhere Are the Apps?\nIt's ironic that apps \u2014 one of the areas that x86-versions of Windows have dominated the competition \u2014 is one of the biggest problems facing the Surface RT.\nIn short: There aren't enough apps built for Surface RT available within the Windows Store. The 60,000 apps available in the Windows 8 store pale in comparison to the ~400,000 iPad specific apps in the App Store.\nIn all of its advertisements around the Surface RT or other Windows RT tablets, Microsoft likes to play up the idea that a Windows RT tablet is better than the iPad because of its ability to work with Office documents and show more than one app at once.\nPutting aside the fact that Office 365 is almost definitely coming to the iPad \u2014 the problem with those ads is that they highlight the app gap. Where is a music creation tool a la Garage Band or the new Logic Remote? Making fun of the ability to play Chopsticks on a piano would be a lot funnier if the only \"competing\" app for Windows RT wasn't a basic virtual piano.\nI frequently check out the app selection on the Windows RT tablet we use for testing purposes and I'm always saddened by the lack of apps, especially when compared to the iPad.\nWith a regular Windows 8 tablet \u2014 such as the Surface Pro \u2014 you can get around some of these app limitations because it will also run any other Windows app. That's not the case with the Surface RT.\nTo top it all off, the Surface RT doesn't even have access to Outlook (unless you use the web browser). Yes, Microsoft is remedying that problem with Windows 8.1, but did no one learn from the disaster that was the BlackBerry PlayBook? Building a tablet even remotely aimed at \"business\" users without a native email client is just sad.\nA Better Alternative Exists\nOf course, the biggest problem with the Surface RT is that it exists alongside the Surface Pro. While the Surface RT is a product that seems to be looking for a market \u2014 not quite a tablet but not quite a full laptop either \u2014 the Surface Pro can run all the same apps as the Surface RT and legacy Windows apps. It also has better add-ons (including a stylus), a faster processor and more memory.\nMeanwhile, Microsoft isn't the only player in the Windows 8 tablet space. Asus, Samsung and Lenovo all have their own Windows 8 tablet or convertible notebooks at various price points. \nSamsung and Asus are also introducing tablets that can use either Windows 8 or Android. You know, so the adult in you can enjoy the Windows apps and the kid in you can access the vast world of Android apps.\nWhither Surface?\nIn hindsight, it seems telling that Microsoft's hardware partners have largely stayed away from Windows RT. Early on, one might be able to ascribe hesitance to adopt Windows RT as payback for Microsoft becoming a direct competitor. \nThe complete disinterest by the market, however, shows that maybe there was more to it than that. A year ago, I predicted that the de facto Windows 8 tablet experience would be a Surface experience. I'll concede I was wrong with that prediction \u2014 in large part because no \"de facto\" Windows 8 tablet market really exists. \nThe Post PC world is certainly upon us. The problem is, it doesn't seem to include room for the Microsoft Surface.\nLet us know why you think Surface has failed \u2014 or why you think it can still succeed \u2014 in the comments.\nImage: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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