Comments

1

Ridiculous.

We are entering a world of pocket calculator pricing for computers.

We need the $49 dollar tablet.

With built in Wimax...a tablet without a pervasive network is useless.
2
And thus, let the haters hating on Microsoft commence!
3
These prices make no sense. Between the iPad and the profusion of Android tablets (from the Kindle and Nook entry-level tablets through to the Samsung and Nexus), you have good tablet options at prices from $200 to $500. So now MS enters the market starting at $600?
4
Meh.

Only Microserf fanbois say "eh".
5
The price is weird, what could it offer for that price that would make an impact on the tablet market? I feel like I'm missing something here.
6
Those tablets look so good, relative to my computing wants, that I have been pretty stoked about their release. Even I'm more than a little taken aback by this, though. I'd heard rumors that the line was going to start somewhere around $200, and while I expected to pay more for the keyboard-cover, $600 definitely changes things somewhat.

:/
7
A fully-functional model for $400 would have been tempting. All I can think is that they are competing against laptops, not tablets. But if so, doesn't that just mean competing against their own installed base of operating systems?
8
@5 - My thoughts as well. Maybe their hesitant to accelerate the decline of the PC market?

Totally a guess, but if they sold them at-or-under cost in an attempt to get a real share of the tablet market, it could cost them a fortune in other areas, not to mention pressure from their PC making partners not to cannibalize their business?

Or maybe they're just crazy enough to have so much faith in their product, and are so blind to the stigma their logo carries with some, they really think that's a competitive price.
9
Look, PC pricing is plummeting. A lot of why "sales are down" articles are out is the total cost per machine - PC, Ultrabook, Tablet, whatever - is dropping.

Most of the "cost" of a Microsoft tablet is the OS. In other words, profit for Microsoft.

Information just wants to be free.
10
The new iPad with 16GB is $499 so the Surface with 32GB at the same price is competitive, at least on paper. Of course the iPad is way ahead in mindshare and has a ton of apps but the Surface will enable you to do things that can only be done on a PC today (e.g. rich browser with Flash, full(ish) Office, hardware support such as plugging in your camera, etc.) We'll see...
11
Right or wrong, Microsoft seems to still be relying on it's traditional partners (Dell, HP, Samsung, Acer, Asus) to carry the lion share of the market. Surface will only be available in 8 markets - it seems clear they're not trying to market this as an iPad killer, but merely to be a high end option and hopefully to set the bar for the rest of the manufacturers. Time will tell if it winds up being a good strategy. Personally, I'd prefer to see a more aggressive approach.
12
@10: this product is the RT version, will NOT run PC apps.

It is another DOA product.

At least SLOG is not beset with payroll patriots from the Mistake Across the Lake.
13
Correct, the RT Surface will only run apps from the store. That's why I'm saying it has a fullish version of Office (which comes already installed) because it's missing some of advanced functionality of the PC version like macros.

I predict it will be moderately successful and will become more so as more apps are available. Every PC sold will be a potential customer for RT apps which will make this platform pretty attractive to developers.
14
If success means "large share of product price goes in OS coffers" then, maybe.

Most developers have already given up on HTML 5 and Microsoft C (etc) programs and are coding in Objective C ... for the iPhone and iPad.

But, hey, that's just news from five tech sites, all of which used to Microsoft fanbois.

Please wait...

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