report:
“However, you may want the Surface because of its heavily-advertised Touch Cover keyboard, a must-have accessory that will set you back an extra $119, even though it costs Microsoft only $16 to manufacture. That’s $619 for a new, unproven tablet that trails the $499 market leader in most ways”.Okay. Welcome back from your trip to Mars! In reality however, the magazine failed to mention that the Surface offers 32 GB storage in the same price tag. The iPad starts at 16 GB for the base model. Yes, I know, only half of Surface storage is available and the other half taken up by Windows RT, Office RT, and other built-in apps. But it goes without saying that the available storage capacity can easily be expanded using an external option like an external drive or microSD. The cover, while heavy on the pocketbook, provides a bunch of functionality and effectively turns the Surface into a full featured computer (running Windows, nonetheless). And this is something which the iPad cannot claim. I do not intent to imply that Surface is the finest tablet available at the time of this writing. Far from it, as a matter of pure fact. But it still nowhere near at the level of the most overpriced gadgets of all time. Now, the Surface Pro, starting at $899, is another story altogether. What do you think?]]>
Article Tags:
'iPad' · Microsoft · Microsoft Surface · Oops · Surface · Surface RT · Tablet · Windows 8 News
All Comments
Ridiculous.
Was there any sensible reason given for this?
From where I see it? None at all. His strongest point remains the lack of apps. And every one knows how weak a reason this is. Apps, like most things on a new platform, take time.
I think Microsoft should have priced it at $199. There would be a ton of them under Christmas trees right now. It would have pissed off Asus (or is it Acer) who has a similar ARM based device on sale at Microcenter for around the same price as the Surface. Also, they should have called it “Windows Lite” instead of RT. There will be lots of dissapointed consumers who buy a $500 Windows device that can’t run any Windows 7 apps they already own.
True enough.
But I honestly think Microsoft has deliberately priced the Surface RT so high, so as to not create a scene with its partners. Think about it, it’s charging them $$$ for licensing Windows RT, (which for it is free) and if it came to the market at a radically low price, just imagine how it would slay all other Windows tablet makers.
This, and the fact that, it further runs the risk of PC makers alienating from its main Windows 8. It’s a double-edged sword as sharp as any.