Microsoft Stops Production of Last Windows RT Tablet

[[Coi] Mr.CLuBBeR]

The final nail in Windows RT's coffin

For all intents and purposes, Windows RT is finally dead. That was actually true a week ago when Microsoft discontinued its Surface 2 tablets, thereby removing life support from Windows RT. But now that Microsoft announced it's no longer producing Nokia Lumia 2520 tablets, it's okay to write Windows RT's obituary -- this is, after all, the final nail in the coffin of an OS that died a slow and uneventful death.
"We are no longer manufacturing Nokia Lumia 2520; however, those still eager to buy Nokia Lumia 2520 should visit Microsoft Retail Stores, MicrosoftStore.com, third-party retailers and resellers for the latest availability," Microsoft said in a statement to The Verge.
After other manufactures had long since jumped ship (or never boarded in the first place), Microsoft was the last maker of Windows RT tablets. But with the retirement of the Nokia Lumia 2520, nobody is left to prop Windows RT up, and that's just fine.
Windows RT has no place in a market that's already looking ahead to Windows 10. You could also argue that it had no place in the Windows 8 era, though Microsoft tried like hell to push a gimped version of its OS with ARM-based devices. That effort turned out to be too confusing for some customers, and way too limited in functionality for others. It was also a costly lesson for Microsoft, which at one point took a $900 million charge on unsold Surface RT tablets.
One thing that's interesting about this is what it means for Microsoft's relationship with ARM, in terms of tablet design. With everything Microsoft has revealed about Windows 10 so far, one thing it hasn't touched on is whether there will be a version of its next OS that supports smaller size ARM tablets, not just IoT devices like Raspberry Pi 2.
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