Are These Sky-High Microsoft Surface Prices Accurate?
From its integrated kickstand, to the cover with integrated keyboard, to the new operating system, there are more than enough reasons to be excited for the release of Microsoft’s Surface tablets. The company surprised us all with its announcement of the two Surface models last month, getting into the hardware game it had largely avoided with Windows Phone. For as great as everything looked, there was one very big question looming over the company’s announcement: how affordable will these quite high-end-looking tablets be when they finally arrive at retail? We’re still waiting on the official word, but if we’re to believe one retailer, Surface could arrive with a seriously premium price tag.
Microsoft said that the Windows RT Surface would be priced competitively with other tablets, while the Windows 8 Pro version would cost about the same as a high-end ultrabook. According to one Swedish retailer, which has posted prices for the various Surface options, even the lowest-end model, the 32GB RT edition, will sell for what works out to over $1000.
That’s hardly “competitive” with the tablets on the market today, making us a bit suspect about the accuracy of these figures. Of course, it’s entirely possible that Microsoft was just trying to ease us into accepting a lofty Surface price tag, and will later confirm this high cost, but for now we’re treating this very much as a rumor.
Claimed prices for higher-end Surface models only get more expensive. The 64GB RT would supposedly cost $1430, and the 64GB and 128GB Pro versions, arriving next year, would be $1860 and $2150, respectively.
That’s expensive even for Apple gear, so we’re extremely interested in seeing these figures either confirmed or refuted; prices like this could quickly put a damper on the prospects for the success of Surface. We also wonder, if this info is legit, whether similarly high prices will carry over to Windows RT tablets from other manufacturers.