Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and COO Kevin Turner recently discussed a number of topics during an internal town hall event earlier this week. Among the topics was the decision to write off $900 million related to Surface RT tablets as well as how sales of Windows are doing in general according to several sources as reported Neowin.
With regards to Surface RT, Ballmer said they simply built more devices than they could sell. If you recall, Microsoft recently slashed Surface RT prices by $150 across the board. The $900 million hit that Microsoft took was simply a price adjustment that was necessary to sell the remaining slates.
On the same topic, Ballmer said next generation Surface tablets are currently being tested and updated with incremental improvements. Although he didn't show off the new device to his employees, it was noted that internal response to the new Surface has been positive.
In other news, Ballmer said they aren't selling as many Windows devices as they want to. This includes PCs, tablets and phones, we're told. In the immediate future, Microsoft will focus on back to school promotions and the always lucrative holiday buying season and make sure Windows 8 / Windows 8.1 devices are readily available.
Redmond is also very interested in bringing Instagram to Windows Phone, a move that surprisingly hasn't taken place yet. I can't really think of any reason as to why not as it would seemingly be a win/win for everyone involved.