Microsoft’s massive $900 million Surface RT gaffe may have been, as one analyst put it, “an absolute abomination” in operations, but the company will not—cannot—give up on the ARM-based platform, experts contend.

“They haven’t given up, not yet,” said Frank Gillett, an analyst with Forrester Research. “Maybe in a year or two if, in fact, they’re still struggling, but this is a determined company with a lot of cash and a large market presence.”

Last week, Microsoft took a $900 million charge against earnings to account for a drop in the value of its remaining Surface RT inventory. As explained by Amy Hood, the company’s new CFO, in a call with Wall Street Thursday, the charge accounts for a 25 percent to 30 percent discounting of the tablet as well as a write-off of an unspecified quantity of components and accessories, likely including some already-purchased parts that have not yet been used to assemble more devices.

But the company, which has repeatedly confirmed that it will remain in the hardware business, gave no hint that it would either dump the Surface RT specifically or scale back its plans to become a devices-and-services vendor.

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