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| Surface RT pricing revealed: $499 |
| By Thom Holwerda on 2012-10-16 12:14:14 |
| After yesterday's TV advertisement, Microsoft finally unveiled the pricing for its Surface tablet - the ARM Windows RT version that is. The cheapest Surface - 32GB without touch cover - will set you back $499. They're aiming straight for iPad pricing here, ignoring the popular cheaper Android offerings. Update: only available in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and the United States. As usual. |
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| Too expensive |
| By ronaldst on 2012-10-16 12:41:00 |
|
299$ is the max I can put on a 720p tablet. These prices are not competitive. |
 - Score: 9 |
| Surface Pro |
| By wojtek on 2012-10-16 13:01:22 |
| I guess you are in same boat as me waiting for Surface Pro with better display. And for me - also an option to run regular Windows apps in desktop mode. |
| - Score: 1 |
| RE: Surface Pro |
| By digitallysane on 2012-10-16 13:08:39 |
| Same here, but it's pretty clear now that the price for that will come in close to 1000. |
| - Score: 1 |
| Shooting oneself in the foot |
| By sukru on 2012-10-16 13:17:29 |
|
I really do not like this price. I can understand the reasoning -- they don't to undervalue their product, also cut into their own partners' profits, like Nexus effectively killing all profit margin on Android tablets. However I still do not like the price. I'll wait for other offerings, hoping lenovo or another partner producing a Win 8 tablet at a reasonable price (maybe around $300). |
| - Score: 3 |
| Beyond stupid |
| By tomchr on 2012-10-16 13:17:56 |
|
Well, it seems like Microsoft is pulling a "need for speed" down the road to guaranteed failure. This could actually be a good thing, because maybe the wake up call from this monumental screwup will happen sooner rather than later - instead of contemplating Ballmer's and Sinofsky's return from Mars. Edited 2012-10-16 13:28 UTC |
| - Score: 2 |
| RE: Too expensive |
| By ronaldst on 2012-10-16 13:46:02 |
|
If China can build acceptable 89$ ICS/Android tablets why should I buy an overpriced 500$+ WinRT tablet that has zero apps? All revealed Windows tablets are priced to stay on the shelves. I am sooo disappointed. :( |
| - Score: 2 |
| Market comparison |
| By Bill Shooter of Bul on 2012-10-16 13:50:19 |
|
Against the ipad and android tablets it doesn't seem so great. But really I think it will end up being compared against straight up laptops more often by people looking for laptops. Its a small light weight notebook, like a netbook with touch. You can get a decent laptop for $500 or so. The price is not terrible, but not good enough that I would suggest this over a larger laptop for most people. Its a cheap, low powered ultrabook. All the style with less sizzle. I can see some marketing people using that as a pitch: Stylish cheaper ultrabook with touch. At that price and that market segment I think it makes sense, but I'm not sure as I'm the right one to make that judgement. I detest ultrabooks as they sacrifice performance, specs for style and higher prices. |
| - Score: 2 |
| RE: Market comparison |
| By r_a_trip on 2012-10-16 14:05:19 |
| At least that ultrabook is running a true multipurpose OS. Windows RT on this machine is just a glorified phone OS. |
| - Score: 7 |
| Tipping point |
| By bowkota on 2012-10-16 14:09:24 |
|
Teenagers right now are growing up with Android and iOS. The desktop and mobile are converging. MS is not doing well in mobile. Vista was a total failure but Windows 7 and Kinect were a success. I applauded them for being bold with Windows 8 and the Surface when first previewed. However, it feels like they're not a good enough package. These next few years are very critical for them. Where will this lead them? Edited 2012-10-16 14:10 UTC |
| - Score: 1 |
| RE: Surface Pro |
| By Praxis on 2012-10-16 14:45:38 |
| Yeah, Win 8 is designed for the convertable tablet/laptop experience and despite my incredible disdain for letting win 8 anywhere near my desktop tower on something like the surface it is interesting. But the RT is not way to go at this price, its priced liked a high end tablet, has the specs of a mid-range and doesn't have the x86 windows ecosystem to draw from. Call my when the Pro pricing is announced, but based on these prices for RT the full version is probably going to be very expensive. |
| - Score: 3 |
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