It’s been a few months since we first heard of Microsoft’s upcoming Surface tablets. While most think of the industry giant as a software maker, it’s made hardware before, both for good (Xbox) and ill (Zune). The Surface in particular is an interesting product, because it’s not an exclusive one. Microsoft will launch a 10.6″ Windows 8 RT edition tablet to directly compete with tablets from Windows 8 licensees like Lenovo, Acer, Samsung, and Sony. It’s unclear what advantages the home-grown Surface may have over those other tablets on a technological basis, but now we know one more detail — price.
In what may or may not be an accidental leak, pricing for the Surface showed up last night on Microsoft’s web store. The leaked price was quickly pulled down, but not before several news sites snapped images (as seen below). Microsoft has now made the pricing official, so it turned out to be legit.
By “leak” we mean “deliberate marketing”, btw.
In case you can’t make it out, the Surface is set to go on sale on October 26, one day after the big Surface event in NYC. Those who want can snag a 32 GB version for $599 with Microsoft’s neat looking Touch Cover or spend $499 if you don’t the cover. If you change your mind, the Touch Cover will be $119.99 and the all too techciting Type Cover will be $129.99. For those who need more storage, the 64 GB Surface will be $699, with Touch Cover.
Yes, this is more than the $199 hoped for, but that was always a bit of a pipe dream. At current pricing, Microsoft is competitive with the tablet leader (Apple, in case you didn’t know) in at least that respect. It remains to be seen if the buying public will find a place in their heart for the surface or what impact it will have on licensed Microsoft tablets, and vice versa. But it will be fun to find out.
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