Computerworld - Microsoft's massive $900 million Surface RT gaffe may have been, as one analyst put it, "an absolute abomination" in operations, but the company will not -- cannot -- give up on the ARM-based platform, experts contended today.
"They haven't given up, not yet," said Frank Gillett, an analyst with Forrester Research. "Maybe in a year or two if, in fact, they're still struggling, but this is a determined company with a lot of cash and a large market presence."
Yesterday, Microsoft took a $900 million charge against earnings to account for a drop in the value of its remaining Surface RT inventory. As explained by Amy Hood, the company's new CFO, in a call with Wall Street Thursday, the charge accounts for a 25% to 30% discounting of the tablet as well as a write-off of an unspecified quantity of components and accessories, likely including some already-purchased parts that have not yet been used to assemble more devices.
But the company, which has repeatedly confirmed that it will remain in the hardware business, gave no hint that it would either dump the Surface RT specifically or scale back its plans to become a devices-and-services vendor.
Microsoft remains shackled to strategy after $900M 'absolute abomination' of a blunder - ComputerworldLikewise, Microsoft will keep working the Windows RT side of the street because ARM, whose processors power virtually every smartphone, is critical to the company's phone strategy. With Microsoft bullish on its ability to merge the code bases of Windows Phone and Windows on the desktop, it would be idiotic to walk away from Windows RT.
If M$ switches to ARM we can say good buy to all legacy desktop programs.
