Comments on: Poll: Microsoft Surface RT prices: High, low or just right?

By: Sharath

Sharath — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 13:36:15 +0000

Lesser specs.. Not impressive enough for me… ‘ll wait for surface pro… It’ll be a game changer for sure.. Just hoping its under 1000$ with all included…

By: Murnende

Murnende — Sun, 21 Oct 2012 07:43:41 +0000

I don’t think Microsoft had a choice in pricing the Surface like this; as it is, it’s tied for the lowest priced Windows RT tablet on the market (tied with the cheap plastic Acer W510). If Microsoft had come in significantly lower than the OEMs, effectively pricing them out of the market, they would have ensured that the OEMs dropped Windows RT and possibly Windows 8 permanently. After all, there’s nothing better than warehouses full of unsold hardware to engender ill will on the part of your partners.

That said, I was hoping for them to come in at $399 or less. I’m less inclined to bother with Windows RT if it’s not drastically less expensive than the hardware running the full version of Windows 8. Microsoft is in an interesting quandry; price low to ensure market penetration and risk alienating the OEMs (who would then run into the arms of Android and compete with you), or price along the same lines as the OEMs and risk losing potential marketshare to Apple, who has arguably a more compelling offering.

I suspect that we’ll see an initial rush of sales, based on pent-up demand, followed by seriously underwhelming consumer interest. This will result in drastic price cuts (a la the PlayBook), which will solidify Microsoft’s market position. Ultimately, it will be the early adopters that get burnt . . . an irony in itself (maybe I’m just bitter, I’m still smarting from watching my friend buy the same PlayBook I have for a third of what I paid).

By: bob

bob — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 12:33:58 +0000

its a little bit heaver than the ipad but it has a kickstand built in gorilla glass 2 and the design of the case which is magnesium ads that extra weight and its worth it considering its much more tough than the ipad. And thick please. the new ipad is 9.4mm surface is thinner you retard. And don’t go on to compare the pro because if you do all I can say is that that runs windows 8 and is comparable to ultrabooks.

By: cj

cj — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 18:25:56 +0000

Office apps to create / edit files that you can transfer easily vie USB.

By: eyemahsource

eyemahsource — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 14:04:04 +0000

Whether or not this works for Microsoft, I would like to see Apple use the new low power Atom chips to make an OS X tablet that has a separate magnetic grid for use with a pen that would allow resting your palm on the screen. Then morph this into twin 1080P 1 1/2″ screens presenting the desktop in 3D in a pair of thin stylish glasses. CPU box belt worn with batteries around the whole belt. OS X widgets space replaced by iOS simulator so one machine does it all. This last step brings us back to restoring the cursor as the dominant interaction while voice and possibly steering the cursor with eye tracking eventually supplant manual cursor control.

By: Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm

Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 10:55:10 +0000

No pen, huh?

By: Luscious

Luscious — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 23:03:40 +0000

No tablet should cost more than a netbook, and certainly not be priced in the same range as notebooks. I paid $400 last year for my HP 210 Mini – a device that runs circles around tablets when it comes to content consumption and creation. We’re talking about devices that use smartphone-class hardware, and I don’t believe that should cost more than a full x86 arrangement that comes standard with hardware keyboard, mass storage and peripheral I/O.

By: trip1ex

trip1ex — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 22:49:29 +0000

Yeah that is where they can have some leverage.

By: trip1ex

trip1ex — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 22:43:05 +0000

Pricing is fine on paper. Real world hands on may change that. But Win RT has the Zune problem. Why buy one?

The keyboard cover doesn’t do anything for me except remind me that it won’t be as convenient as a laptop because you have to be seated at a table to use it.

I think the potential for MS lies in the RT laptop. Smithing Apple isn’t doing with iOS. And the clamshell seems best for keyboard input the lack of which is what keeps the iPad from doing more.

From there maybe they can make a really slick hybrid eventually.

By: marcos

marcos — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 22:37:30 +0000

Why would I pay 499 for a Windows RT tablet that can’t run any legacy Windows apps and doesn’t come with an HDMI port standard when I can buy an Acer W510 that runs full Windows 8 and has HDMI output standard?

The whole purpose of Windows RT was to have low priced ARM devices that could compete on the lower price end. 499 for the starter Surface is not lower end!