See, and here is the issue. If people have to carry something else around, most people won't use it. And if you have to buy it separately when other devices come with it, people will mock the missing feature. If you compare the Surface to a laptop, then having no GPS makes sense. Comparing it to a iPad, it makes a lot of sense for it to have it. If the Surface is supposed to unit both worlds, it should have the "core" hardware of both. Which I think is why so many people hated that MS didn't include the keyboard if the Surface was supposed to be a laptop replacement.
The size and cost of a Qualcomm chip with GPS would be a few dollars at most. And battery life shouldn't be that bad with it. The software running (the map program) would probably use way more power than the GPS chip. And as others have said, you can always turn off the feature.
Microsoft needs to learn that while many people LOVE them, so many more LOVE to pick on them. They are NOT Apple and shouldn't price the Surface so high like a Apple product. Look at how many 2:1 notebooks there are now, and many are under the $1k price point. Microsoft has the $$. While it may hurt many 3rd -party hardware makers, they should price the Surface cheap. Take a price loss. Have it praised for the price and features, and people will buy it. They (PCs) just need the one hardware that will "wow" people in buying. Many people didn't think they would need a iPad, but now look at the market. Microsoft should dominate the 2:1 market with the Surface. They could if they can make the hardware features of both the laptop/tablet, and keep the price down to a PC price point.
I recommend the
Bluetooth GPS QSTARZ 818XT (around US$75) with Windows 10. Works great with Google Maps, Google Earth, Basecamp, Microsoft Streets, and the built-in Windows 10 Maps app.
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