Microsoft Surface prices leaked, to be pricier than the iPad

Microsoft’s Surface tablets are in the spotlight these days and while Microsoft may have a lot to talk about, pertaining to the operating system and the tablet's design, there’s been little talk of what the tablets will be priced at. Digitimes has sources close to Pegatron, the company rumoured to be manufacturing the tablets for Microsoft and while there’s no information on how many units are to be manufactured, there are rough estimates as to what the pricing of the tablets might be. The sources say that the Windows RT model of the Surface tablet is likely to be priced above $599 (approximately Rs. 33,800), while the Windows 8 Pro Surface tablet is likely to be above $799 (approximately Rs. 45,000). This of course, is going to be the pricing of the tablet in the U.S. When they come down to India, we can expect prices to be a bit more than that.

Pricing is a sensitive issue for Microsoft, as they’ll have to be very aggressive, if they have to stand a chance against the new iPad, whose cheapest model sells for Rs. 30,500 in India and $500 in the U.S. There’s also concern about how their partner-vendors are going to react to Microsoft entering the market. Microsoft is risking a lot, considering they’ll only get minor profits by selling their own branded Surface tablets.

 Just two days back, Microsoft unveiled its chic tablet, the Surface. The software giant made its presence felt for the past three decades, crafting ingenious software for computing, but this was the first tablet that it has ever built. Here are the hardware specifications of the two tablets -

Surface for Windows RT

• OS: Windows RT
• Weight: 676g
• Depth: 9.3 mm
• Display: 10.6-inch ClearType HD Display
• Energized: 31.5 W-h
• Connectivity: microSD, USB 2.0, Micro HD Video, 2x2 MIMO antennae
• Productive: Office ‘15’ Apps, Touch Cover, Type Cover
• Practical: VaporMg Case and Stand
• Configurable: 32GB, 64GB

Surface for Windows 8 Pro

• OS: Windows 8 Pro
• Weight: 903g
• Depth: 13.5 mm
• Display: 10.6-inch ClearType Full HD Display
• Energized: 42 W-h
• Connected: microSDXC, USB 3.0, Mini DisplayPort Video, 2x2 MIMO antennae
• Productive: Touch Cover, Type Cover, Pen with Palm Block
• Practical: VaporMg Case and Stand
• Configurable: 64GB, 128GB

Microsoft was a late entrant into the mobile world that had just two powerful entities – Apple and Android. Microsoft’s initial smartphones didn’t get much love and the company had begun to lose ground in the mobile terrain. The company bounced back with the tiled Windows Phone UI, and then made the big announcement of Windows 8, which would offer seamless experience for various platforms, like smartphones, tablets and desktops.