Microsoft Store slashes prices on Windows 8 tablets, hybrids

Microsoft is implementing pretty stiff price cuts on some laptop-tablet hybrids. Is this just the beginning?

By Brooke Crothers

 April 2, 2013 8:26 PM PDT

In what could be a sign of things to come, the Microsoft Store is slashing prices on a variety of hybrid laptop-tablet models.

Here are some of the highlights now appearing on the Microsoft Store "Tablets and Convertibles" page:

• Toshiba Satellite U925t-S2130 Convertible Ultrabook: Cut to $799 from $1,149. 12.5-inch screen, Core i5 Intel chip, 128GB solid-state drive (SSD).
• Acer Iconia W510-1674 Tablet: reduced to $399 from $499. 10.1-inch display, Intel Atom 1.8GHz "Clover Trail" Z2760 chip, 32GB SSD.
• HP ENVY x2 11-g012nr Touchscreen: Now $599, was $849. 11.6-inch screen, Intel Atom 1.8GHz "Clover Trail" Z2760 chip, 64GB SSD.
• Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro 700T Tablet: Cut to $999 from $1,199. 11.6-inch screen (1,920x1,080), Core i5 Intel chip, 128GB SSD.

These could be just run-of-the-mill price reductions on models that aren't moving. Or a sign of something more serious.

On that latter point, IDC analyst Bob O'Donnell told CNET last month that Windows 8 PC sales are "horribly stalled."

And IDC said in March that it expects computer shipments to drop 1.3 percent this year, worse than its prior view for a 2.8 percent rise. And that decline comes after a 3.7 percent slide in 2012.