dgstorm
Editor in Chief
Here's a new rumor that we want to turn out to be false. Obviously the big news a couple days ago was the launch of Microsoft's new Surface Windows Tablet. The most conspicuous thing that came out of that announcement wasn't a new feature or spec that Microsoft shared. Instead it was something that was not said, mainly pricing details. For some reason Microsoft chose not to share any pricing info at that time. Early rumors started swirling which pegged the price point at $500 for the RT version and $1000 for the Pro version; however, some new intel from DigiTimes suggests that the price point could be even higher than that in some cases or lower in others.
Specifically, the new rumor suggests that the Windows RT (ARM) version of the Surface will sell for $599.99, and the Windows 8 Pro (Intel) version will sell for $799.99. While the Pro version's new rumor is a couple hundred dollars cheaper than the previous rumor, the RT version went up by $100 bucks. This could make it a bit less attractive to consumers who might consider this over the Apple product, which sells for just $499.99.
If this is true, then it makes Microsoft's new strategy even riskier. They already risk alienating their other Windows Tablet OEM partners because they will be designing a device that competes directly with them. Now, they may be offering that device at a "less-than-competitive" price point. All we can do at this point is cross our fingers that Microsoft will do the smart thing and sell the device at a more competitive price.
Here's a quote from DigiTimes with some of the details,
Source: WindowsTabletForum via DigiTimes
