Last week Microsoft started the Russian rollout of Surface RT – which it describes as “a tablet with some laptop capabilities” – almost six months after the inaugural tablet premiered on its home turf and more than a month since the plans were first floated.
Coming in 32GB and 64GB storage options with or without a touch keyboard, the new ARM chip-powered gadget is for now only available from M.Video and Euroset, two leading Russian consumer electronics retailers.
The entry-level option sells in Moscow’s M.Video for 20,990 rubles ($700), some $200 above the Surface’s US price.
While Microsoft Russia hopes Russian customers will embrace the newcomer, retailers are only cautiously optimistic. Asked by East-West Digital News about the first days of Surface RT sales, Anton Panteleev, M.Video’s head of PR, said that the start was “somewhat muted,” providing no numbers. He admitted that “while people are interested, the demand is lukewarm, muffled by the newness of the platform and cooler-than-expected marketing support.”
Panteleev believes that “it will take about two or three months to assess the demand and whether the launch was successful, when people in Russia’s regions have digested that there’s more to Microsoft than just desktop Windows-enabled OS’s.”
Euroset echoes its competitor’s opinion. Yadviga Kislitsyna, its PR manager, told East-West Digital News that it’s “pointless to arrive at any conclusion” yet as sales are only unfolding. She noted, however, that in these first days of sales “Android-powered tablets are certainly selling a dozen times better” than the newcomer.
The Surface RT has not yet become a bestseller in other countries either. Bloomberg reported last month that Microsoft had sold only a “little more than a million” since the debut, falling short of expectations.
