Microsoft May Discount Windows 8: Report

Samsung pulls back on selling Windows RT tablets. Windows 8 might be discounted to help spur sales.

By Gary Krakow, Senior Technology Correspondent

THESTREET.COM — 03/06/13

NEW YORK (TheStreet(Symbol :TST

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)) - Windows 8 was supposed to beMicrosoft's (Symbol :MSFT

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)savior. Now we're hearing multiple reports of acceptance problems with the operating system.

Windows RT, the lightweight, touchscreen version of Windows made especially to work with ARM-based processors - is reportedly the victim of slow sales in parts of Europe.

According to German technology site Hesse.de, Samsung will stop selling its ATIV Tab, which uses Windows RT, in Germany, and potentially a few other European countries. Retailers have told Samsung Windows RT products don't seem to be resonating with buyers and aren't selling well.

Samsung made the decision a while back, it was not going to bother selling the ATIV Tabs tablet in the United States. Samsung cited "consumer confusion" over Microsoft's(Symbol :MSFT

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)two new operating systems when making that announcement.

Windows 8, Microsoft's(Symbol :MSFT

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)full-strength OS may have it's future licensing price slashed to help spur the development of smaller, cheaper, touch-screen laptops which run on the software. Windows 8 is designed to onIntel (Symbol :INTC

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)-based processors.

Currently, popular/inexpensive computing devices usually run onGoogle's (Symbol :GOOG

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)Android OS orApple's (Symbol :AAPL

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)iOS. According to The Wall Street Journal, Microsoft(Symbol :MSFT

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)wants back into that price segment, and is willing to do what it can to spur development of new computing form factors.

The Verge disclosed that Microsoft's(Symbol :MSFT

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)next operating system after Windows 8, codenamed Windows Blue, is supposedly aimed squarely at a new breed of seven and eight-inch-screened laptops.

--Written by Gary Krakow in New York.