No matter how you see Microsoft’s efforts in the hardware domain, this much is sure that the company seems to be going all out when it comes to offering consumers variety and choice.
Redmond is all ready to official unveil its refreshed Surface product line any moment now at its New York event. Sales of these new slates, however, are expected to begin only in October, by the time Windows 8.1 is out in the wild.
According to the always reliable Mary Jo Foley, insiders are pointing that the launch of Windows 8.1 is to be followed by the official launch date of the second generation Surface units.
October 22 is the date set when the revamped Surface slates will be available to buyers.
But while pricing will remain the same for the existing models, it seems that Redmond has a few surprises up its proverbial sleeves.
The upgraded RT version of the tablet will still retail at prices of $499 and $599 for the 32GB and 64GB models, though certain bundles will include the Touch Covers. It is the Pro lineup of the tablet that is in line to get some new models to go with the 64GB and 128GB standard units.
Microsoft, it appears, is ready to provide power users with even more space this time around in the form of 256GB and 512GB versions — pricing for these new units is expected to start at $1,299 and $1,699 respectively.
Expect more details on this at the event, but this is undoubtedly good news for power users that demand productivity on the go.
All Comments
This pricing structure makes no sense to me. Why make a tablet that costs more than a laptop even if it is the Pro, and why make the RT Surface cost more than upcoming Windows 8.1 devices? I just don’t get it. Put out the new ones at the price of the current ones, and drop the current ones even more to clear inventory. It just makes sense to keep the prices from all the Surface commercials.
Yep, I agree, Ray. You’d think they learned some lessons from the last time, but no! Do like they did with the Xbox to make some hay first. The pricing models make this another fiasco in the works.
Somewhat agreed guys. But we have to keep in mind an affordable pricing model makes an even bigger fiasco in the works. Hardware partners and OEMs would be fuming in the mouth if Microsoft makes the Surface cheaper.
That would leave them with even lesser profit margins, maybe even leading some to jump ship altogether. I still believe Windows RT licensing fees should be free for hardware parters, for the first few years at least, and Microsoft should focus on making money via apps on that platform.
Vanilla Windows 8.1 should continue at what Microsoft thinks best. Because unless we see a bunch of Windows RT tablets soon, the platform will be exactly that. With no OEM creating RT devices, Microsoft will be giving away the operating system for free, just like Office 2013 RT.
Apple and Google (to a lesser extent) do not have to worry about hardware partners as much as Microsoft has to, owing to how the Windows ecosystem works.
As always @maldini3b:disqus, I respect your take on things. But with the OEMs bringing out Chromebooks (which they certainly have every right to do), they really shouldn’t have much to bitch about with cheaper Surface pricing. I mean, does any of them complain about each other’s pricing schemes? No, I think not.
Appreciate your comment Rodney. Thanks! 🙂 And yeah, can’t say I disagree about the Chromebook thing, even if it is not selling proportionate to the hype it gets. My fear is that OEMs may increase the practice of offering their latest models without a bundled Windows license. They still do now, but most new PCs come with either Windows 7 or 8.
As for complaining about each other’s pricing schemes, I like to think of them as lionesses fighting with each other for scraps. As long as they don’t complain or attack the lion, which is in this case Microsoft.
That is why Microsoft cannot bring out Surface devices at throwaway prices. That’s what the OEMs are there for, me thinks.
Did you forget the 8 gig of ram or leave it out intentionally?
Uh, I’m pretty sure it’s in the announcement article. That or the preorder one. This one was posted a little while before the event started actually. But there is one that mentions both memory options on the Surface Pro, the 4GB and 8GB of RAM configurations.