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Microsoft Surface RT tablet to launch alongside Windows 8 for $199?
This could be really interesting if true. According to a trusted source at Engadget, Microsoft’s first piece of consumer hardware, the Surface RT tablet, could debut on October 26th for the low-low price of $199.
When the tablet debuted earlier this summer, people were blown away by the sleek form factor, intriguing accessories and huge potential market disruption. If Microsoft manages to price the Surface RT — the ARM-based version which will compete with the Nexus 7 and new iPad — at $199, it could be another notch not only in Redmond’s belt, but in Nvidia’s. It’s long been rumoured that the Surface RT will be powered by Nvidia’s Tegra 3 silicone, which sits comfortably inside the Nexus 7 at the same price. The Intel-based Surface, which will be thicker, heavier and much more powerful, with support for existing Windows apps, is expected in Q1 2013 at a much higher price point.
A $199 price point would certainly put Microsoft at a loss for each tablet sold, but would drive sales and therefore apps, legitimizing an as-yet-unproven ecosystem. The Windows Store, which will be separate from the Windows Phone Marketplace, must compete with Apple and Google for virtual shelf space, and developers may take slowly to “yet another” platform.
Source: Engadget
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56 comments for “Microsoft Surface RT tablet to launch alongside Windows 8 for $199?”
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I doubt it, but it would be awesome (if true, hopefully the lower price caries to the Intels too).
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That cannot be the real price. It would be nice though; we would be able to by a x86 and a Win RT for less than were expecting the x86′s to cost alone.
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rim?
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Although I wish this to be true, it seems unlikely for the somewhat strong build quality the Surface seems to have.
One can hope for $199.
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i doubt this is true.
i would have been very happy with a 399 price
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You can’t be serious. I would buy the RT for 300 and the Pro for 600-900. I mean come on, they can’t price too high for these devices because they need market share.
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199$ ?
If it’s true, shut up and take my money
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At $199, buy now think later!
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Seems highly unlikely, but even at $400 I would buy it.
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Well its going to have to cost $199 if its going to compete with the nexus 7 but i don’t think it will. I think it will be about $399 but only time will tell.
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if it is 199, i will definately try it at first time…
but if it is 400+, i will think about it and read some review first….
since microsoft didnt reveal the price, i think the price will be higher than the ipad…if it was 199, microsoft would let us know long time ago.
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> Tegra 3 silicone
NVIDIA is making breast implants now?
There’s a Surface for ya.
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Silicon, Silicone… They’re not the breast at spelling.
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Price point aside, it’s a sleek tab. Now only if they consolidated both app marketplaces into one, centralized app store, that would be better for Microsoft, the consumers, and more importantly, the devs.
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Price notwithstanding, is this even gonna make it north of the border?
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I am ordering online and hoping they ship here.lol
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Microsoft announced they’re opening a Microsoft store in Vancouver, and I believe there’s one in Toronto. I can’t imagine them not selling the Surface at those locations.
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Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
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The only windows application the majority of the population needs is office. As long as there are no compromises there, they are golden.
Most people don’t need to play Diablo 3 or run photoshop on their computers. Like I said, as long as windows explorer and office are intact, that is all I really need. I’ll take the less overheating, less money, thinner form over photoshop and PC gaming anyway myself.
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Win RT devices would make great portable devices I think ideally it would be good to have a Win RT for portablity and a W8 x86 tablet for the living room.
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I think it’d be smart of them to go in with such a low price. The tablet market is pretty saturated right now and with a tempting price tag you’d see plenty of people trying it out.
Also, “Microsoft’s first piece of consumer hardware”?? Xbox? Zune even?
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Discuss how they make their money back?
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Software. Keyboard attachments. Covers. Cases. Developer support for the best selling tablet ever made. I am sure they will have like 20 dollar apps that make it almost as good as the pro. Heck, they can just make a desktop app and charge a fortune for it.
The brute force approach they used with the Xbox.
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Since Surface’s announcement, I’ve been interested in the Pro version only. However, if this price tag is correct, I might find myself buying both. Can’t really go wrong with a $199 investment on a surface!
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199 is a great price point. But I’m still holding out for the intel version, no matter the cost. I still see the RT version as the hindered version of the surface.
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If this turns out to be the case, then I’ll certainly be picking one up.
Hell even if it comes in around the $250-300 mark I’d still get one.
Only tablet I was looking to before was the Nexus 7, now if this can come in at a similar price I’ll probably go to the Surface instead.
I’m sure it will compliment the next Lumia quite nicely.
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At $199, I think the product will sell like hot cakes!
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Frack!! My wallet’s in jeopardy again.
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I’m throwing my money at the screen but nothing’s happening!
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Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
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You’re a douche, stop posting
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They will crush everyone if it was. Only releasing it in the US is lame though. If this is true, I will never get my hands on one.
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Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
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Mmmmm seeems like a 360 strategy, they did lose money on the 360 for quite some time. I think it would be ideal for them to follow the same strategy, as long as it pushes volumes that just means more app sales for them.
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At 199, put me down for 3.
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Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
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Acer’s president will cry if Microsoft prices it at $199. But I won’t!
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If this is truly $199, I’d be enthused to have this join my happy little tablet family comprising of the Asus Transformer and iPad!
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MS can afford to do it
. Sure they will lose money on it initially but it will stop the ipad and bexus momentum, and put MS back in play. In the long run they can make up for their loss through app sales. Better to sell it for a loss and gain market share than have a paper weight lying around like RIM’s PB which no one isbuying as its too expensive.
Someone at MS needsa vision and needs to think outside the box and make this happen at 199.99 , they can blow the X’Mas sales out of the water with this
.
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It will have bigger lineups than when iphone or ipad was released
.. Finally we will have someone else lining up besides isheep 
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I hope they do for their own good. Even if it’s being sold at a loss it would get the product out there and widespread and therefor people would be more likely to get Windows 8, a Windows 8 tablet, Windows 8 phone, or Windows 8 computer.
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I higly doubt they will release this at $199.99. Currently the cheapest brand name Android tablet retails for about 299.99 if im not mistaken and is made by Acer. A brand new windows tablet at 199.99 just does not seem realistic, but who knows with microsoft.
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“A $199 price point would certainly put Microsoft at a loss for each tablet sold, but would drive sales and therefore apps, legitimizing an as-yet-unproven ecosystem.”
What if people manage to get their apps illegitimately? There goes MS’s profit!
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I do not see how they could do this without completely alienating all of their OEM partners who would never be able to compete with their own Windows 8 tablets
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@Apple Sales Guy, I don’t think arguing user-friendliness is valid on an article posted on a website for tech-savvy people. I’m confident that everyone that follows this website are more than capable of working around any minor “inconveniences.”
I’m psyched to see this tablet in action!
@n00b2000, Microsoft plans on having holiday stores in several cities in Canada and they will be selling the Microsoft Surface in these stores.
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It’s an incredible win for the consumers. In the few years that tablets have even been around, competition has created pricing that pretty much ensures that virtually everyone on the planet will have one in the coming years.
Gene Roddenberry really did have the vision of the future!
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Sorry, this isn’t going to happen.
Microsoft cannot price this so low as to (A) charge 1/2 as much as it would cost them to sell it and (B) completely alienate its partners such as Lenovo, Acer, Asus, etc.
True, when the XBox 360 first came out, MS did subsidize it, but they weren’t partnering up with OEMs to sell XBox 360 clones or anything like that.
MS cannot sell it too low to ruin the market for their partners, but they can’t sell it too high for it not to make any sense. Selling it for the same price as an iPad3 is probably the way to go, at least initially, and make sure they include the various keyboard covers and other accessories. It won’t sell like hotcakes, but it will sell AND it leaves A LOT of room underneath it for Lenovo, Acer, Asus, etc to come out with less expensive/less awesome tablets. Or maybe they can come out with an equally awesome tablet, but price it at $500 as well.
If MS didn’t have such a large group of OEMs wanting to make tablets, then a price of $400 would have been decent. Pricing it at $100 less than the iPad3 while still including all the accessories, etc, would have created quite a bit of sales. Perhaps they still can sell it for $400 and have enough room for the OEMs?
Pricing at $350 ($150 less than the iPad3 and $50 less than the iPad2) and this thing would sell like hotcakes, but it would all but eliminate the market for the OEMs.
At $200 you will see shortages, similar to HP’s firesale of the $99 Touchpad, as everyone will buy it without thinking. Granted, that firesale DID make the Touchpad the #2 tablet in the marketplace for a while, but that’s not a longterm strategy.
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hp touchpad is a piece of junk….
i would feel i had lost a fortune if i had bought it over $150.
i got it as $99 and resold it as $80 one month ago.
if ipad2 worth $400, then touchpad worth $99, at most…
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$199 for the tablet!!!! and $399 for the keyboard!!!! wait a sec….
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i think this article is BS, Engadget posted this article probably to disappoint potential buyers when it comes out for more than the magical $199 price because they are ifanbois
this tablet is made out of high end materials, magnesium alloy, ips display, USB 3 port, keyboard cover (tons of electronics inside)
you really think it can be $199 when the Nexus 7 is being sold nearly at a loss with less hardware for the same price?
get real, engadget’s source as listed is “anonymous”, yeah i really believe that.
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For $200 I’d buy it.
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$199 – It’s going to be a total disaster for idonkeys world as we know it.
This changes everything…. Again!
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If its true i would l’île to change my two pads for these
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199 may be the loss they take when they sell it for 400, but there is no way it can be the price tag.
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For $199? Christmas presents this year gonna be an easy fix. Lets hope it’s true!
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I guess the rumour was ff by only 300 bucks ..lol
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