Microsoft Surface Pro price cut made permanent as weak sales continue

Microsoft is still struggling to sell its Surface Pro tablet, as the company has announced it will make permanent the price cuts that were set to expire Thursday.

Earlier this month, the tech giant slashed the price of its Surface Pro model by $100 down to $799 as part of a back-to-school special that would end Aug. 29, but the company said that is now the regular price. Microsoft said it will also extend that price to other markets where the tablet is sold.

“People who buy Surface love Surface, and we’re eager for more people to get their hands on this incredible device,” Microsoft told AllThingsD.

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The price cut is a sign that Microsoft continues to face poor demand for its tablet, which was supposed to be an iPad killer, or at least an iPad competitor.

The Surface Pro is the size of a tablet but can run a full version of Windows 8 and was aimed at power users looking for a portable device like the iPad. But a number of weakness have hurt the Surface Pro since it launched in February. Most notably, the Surface Pro has weak battery life and its previous starting price of $899 was only about $30 less than the most expensive iPad.

This is also the second time Microsoft makes a notable price cut to one of its Surface models. In July, Microsoft was also forced to cut the price of the Surface RT -- a light version of the tablet -- by $150.

Just a few days after that price cut, the company announced it had lost nearly $1 billion on unsold Surface devices.

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