Microsoft Surface tablet aggressively priced at $199 (£130), has Nexus 7 in its sights

Gerald Lynch Microsoft, Tablet, Tech Digest news, Windows 8
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microsoft-surface-tablet.jpgThe gloves are off in the next generation tablet pricing war. Microsoft’s Surface tablet, with its nifty ARM-based Windows RT OS and stylish keyboard cover, blew everyones socks off when it came out of nowhere in June. All that was missing was a price. We’ve now got that.

According to an anonymous Engadget tipster who attended Microsoft’s TechReady15 event, the Surface will land for a paltry $199. That’s £130, without added taxes and the usual inflated price tag us Brits have to endure, but either way, that’s cheap as chips.

That’s also far cheaper than the initially-feared $1,000 / £650 price tag that some online retailers had suggested the Surface would sell for.

It’s puts it in direct competition with the $199 Kindle Fire and Nexus 7, neither of which come with the allure of a brand new operating system nor that (apparently bundled) keyboard cover.

Microsoft must almost certainly be selling the device at a loss, but with Windows 8 the most drastically-changed iteration of their operating system yet, they’ll be keen to get people familiar with it, even at the expense of profits. They’ll be banking hard on Window 8’s content delivery systems to recoup the cost, but whether they’re a match for the iPad’s App Store and iTunes, or the Google Play Store, or even Amazon’s content shop, remains to be seen.

Microsoft’s Surface tablet is tipped to land on October 26th, alongside the release of the Windows 8 operating system.

For more on the Surface, click here.

Gerald Lynch
For latest tech stories go to TechDigest.tv

8 comments

  • I reckon with added taxes and usual retailer scum about. In the U.K they’ll try flog it for £199 which tbh is quite a good price anyway.

  • I reckon with added taxes and usual retailer scum about. In the U.K they'll try flog it for £199 which tbh is quite a good price anyway.

  • i love the way that $200 is £130, i know this is roughly the actual conversion but my point here is that if it is $200 in the US it will be £200 in the UK.. as ever. .

  • i love the way that $200 is £130, i know this is roughly the actual conversion but my point here is that if it is $200 in the US it will be £200 in the UK.. as ever. .

  • There really is no evidence that this price is any more real than the $1000 rumour a couple of weeks ago. It’s from an anonymous tipster, so should be taken with a grain of salt.

    I’ll happily eat a Surface if this price turns out to be true. Don’t get me wrong, I hope it is true, as I want one. But I’d file this under “silly internet rumour” and leave it there.

    • Having read a few other posts (via twitter and the such) it looks like the price was dropped by MS at a trade show.. but still i wont trust anything until i see it on the shelf!

  • There really is no evidence that this price is any more real than the $1000 rumour a couple of weeks ago. It's from an anonymous tipster, so should be taken with a grain of salt.

    I'll happily eat a Surface if this price turns out to be true. Don't get me wrong, I hope it is true, as I want one. But I'd file this under “silly internet rumour” and leave it there.

    • Having read a few other posts (via twitter and the such) it looks like the price was dropped by MS at a trade show.. but still i wont trust anything until i see it on the shelf!

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