Microsoft Releases Pricing on Surface Tablet, Ships October 26th

MacRumors said:

YouTube: video

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What's the point of that commercial, other than to make you "feel" really good about a product they give you virtually no information regarding? No specs, no pricing, no availability, a brief comment about colours and apps on some website. This is advertising today - "buy our product so you'll feel better in life." There's nothing about what it does, what it can do, how it can help/benefit your life, other than to make you happier, which we never require them to prove. Might as well promise superhero powers if you buy their product.

This is why I never watch commercial television: the advertisements. They're catchy and fun, but they're so frigging manipulative I prefer to think for myself and decide for myself and make informed decisions not based on whether that woman in the bikini on the motorcycle comes with each purchase, or she'll be what's on offer after purchase in every woman who sees me on that bike.

Why not just do away with products entirely, give money to these corporate overlords and each time you pay they give you a drug injection that makes you feel better. At least they'd be honouring their promise they advertise in their commercials.

/steps down off soapbox

Geckotek said:

Just saying, don't count MS out and I think a lot of your presumptions are incorrect.

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I would not either. This may be the precisely the tablet product that some people have been itching to buy. We shall see about that... but the real issue here is that the Surface is royally ticking off Microsoft's Windows OEMs. It remains to be seen how Microsoft will navigate the partner/competitor issue with the OEMs into the future. The Surface is a pretty big change in direction for them.

I personally love Windows 8, and I think the price point is fair considering the storage, but they should have opted for $399 16GB Tablet, at $499 they are competing with the iPad 3 which has a retina display & huge app ecosystem..

I think the video is just...

*puts on sunglasses*

...scratching the surface.

WHAAAAAAAAAA......

D.

I wouldn't buy one of these. Although it is running Windows it is running the ARM version so you instantly lose access to hundreds of thousands of pieces of Windows desktop x86 based software. That would be the main reason I'd want a Windows tablet because the Metro interface is largely unproven and devoid of applications.

So now that we know the ARM SKU starts at $499 the x86 version (Which Microsoft calls the Pro version) will probably start at $799 which prices it way out of the market.

This tablet feels really confused. I think I'll probably replace my iPad 2 with an iPad 4 whenever it releases.

If it’s a great keyboard, with a good feel and durability, then it’s a great idea.

If it’s a poor keyboard, I wouldn’t want the cost or weight.

Either way, it’s got style, it’s original (well, except for the magnetic cover!) and I wish it well. I’d hate to be an early adopter with a lesser selection of true tablet apps, though.

I’m more interested in the Metro UI than the actual product though—it’s cool to see some original work like that, amid the sea of Apple copycats out there!

WilliamLondon said:

What's the point of that commercial, other than to make you "feel" really good about a product they give you virtually no information regarding? No specs, no pricing, no availability, a brief comment about colours and apps on some website.

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But, but... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlHUz99l-eo

D.

That keyboard cover is such a massive gimmick. All those available so far are absolutely horrid to type on. This one won't be any different.

GeekLawyer said:

$500 seems like a high cost of entry for an unproven product with a limited app ecosystem.

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I'm so glad you didn't advise Apple in early 2010.

-Ryan- said:

I'm so glad you didn't advise Apple in early 2010.

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I'm not.
Maybe if he had, the price would have been lower.

D.

Hastings101 said:

Too expensive. I know Microsoft wants to get into the higher end market but if people have to spend that much they'll probably think "I might as well buy an iPad" or something similar. They'd have much better luck with Intel-based tablets and marketing them as a more portable Windows computer.

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Agreed. I will still have to look at the tablet, and I like the new direction of windows 8. I would have to take a risk to buy this over an iPad, but if the price where $300 or lower, It would be worth the risk.

-Ryan- said:

I'm so glad you didn't advise Apple in early 2010.

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How about 2007? At least in 2010 they had iOS devices.

decimortis said:

I'm not.
Maybe if he had, the price would have been lower.

D.

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I switched from a PC to an Apple about 9 years ago...being new too OSX I called Apple a couple times, they answered my question and solved my problem hassle free, and every time I've had to deal with Apple customer service I have had no issue.

The last PC I owned was an HP, had issue out of the box with windows, called HP, they gave me a number for Microsoft, I called Microsoft they wanted to charge me a fee, called HP and HP said use the restore disk and restore computer.

Has Microsoft customer service improved...one of the best thing I like about Apple.

Oohara said:

That keyboard cover is such a massive gimmick. All those available so far are absolutely horrid to type on. This one won't be any different.

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Riigggghhhtttt..

I haven't seen anything like the Touch Cover, except in sci-fi flicks. You haven't used it not know the engineering behind it, please reserve judgment.

Aidan5806 said:

Hold up one second........120 BUCKS FOR A FRICKEN TOUCH KEYBOARD THAT VIOLATES SO MANY PATENTS........WTF!?!?!??!?!

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It doesn't violate any patents. MS paid for all IP on it. Which is probably why it costs so much.

Leave it to Microsoft to make prices cheaper but also much more complex and confusing. I don't think the surface will do well for reasons others have said. Unproven, limited app ecosystem, still too expensive. I think most people will pay the extra $100 for the apple product over the microsoft product because it is universal, proven and hip. Some will certainly be attracted to the lower price and perhaps the windows ecosystem, but I don't think the surface will be a major iPad competitor for many years, if ever.

What I don't get about the Surface is that it has a kickstand and is always marketed with a keyboard… So, in a way, it's technically "meant to" look and work like a laptop, right? Except that it doesn't run a full OS as you'd expect from a laptop…

Sure, you can detach the keyboard and not use the stand, but the point is, these are the main selling features of the device. It's like saying "I've invented the car that runs on solar power, and its most awesome feature is that it can run on gas". And then I pretty much never mention that it runs on solar power ever again, except how awesome it is that it runs on gas.

decimortis said:

But, but... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlHUz99l-eo

D.

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iPod commercial - playing music and dancing, what you do when you listen to music. Thus representing what the product does, play music.

Surface commercial - following the idea that the commercial shows what the product does... the surface, well, it clicks. Oh and maybe that you can toss, or even kick it.

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zbarvian said:

Riigggghhhtttt..

I haven't seen anything like the Touch Cover, except in sci-fi flicks. You haven't used it not know the engineering behind it, please reserve judgment.

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They have been around a long time, you can get them for the iPad. Generally, they suck.

I use a MBP and not the biggest fan of iOS. Was really excited about the Surface and will not pay $500 for an unproven product. At least iOS has a ton of developer support. I am one of those on the fence people and will likely just wait for iPad 4 and like someone mentioned earlier, run Office 2k13 on that.

decimortis said:

But, but... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlHUz99l-eo

D.

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Don't get me wrong, I'm not singling out M$**t at all, I know they all do it.

winston1236 said:

Mostly true except enterprise loves windows 7 not os anything

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iOS is making huge headway into enterprise. Yes, enterprise love Win 7, but Surface is Win 8, which enterprise is wary of. Win 7 is likely to continue to be the default business computer OS for another decade, but Apple is capturing the post PC enterprise market.

That commercial . . . I actually felt a pang of queasiness in my stomach during it.

Microsoft had (has?) a great opportunity to restore it's relevance. Shock the world, make us change again, like they did with Windows back in the day. Instead? Some Disney Channel dance video clearly aimed at the audience without the means to buy the featured product.

$500? Move along, nothing to see here . . .

This pricing seems more apporpriate for the Surface Pro of which would be rather compelling. With that said, I'm not sold on the whole Windows RT side of things, especially at this price point.

Geckotek said:

Just saying, don't count MS out and I think a lot of your presumptions are incorrect.

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Fair enough, but I'd be willing to be Surface is going to be Vista-sized flop -- not on quality like Vista, but being too late too the game. You have your anecdotal stories, I have mine.

GeekLawyer said:

Wow, Apple sure stole the tablet thunder today.

I would have also expected the RT version of the Surface to be more competitively priced. $500 seems like a high cost of entry for an unproven product with a limited app ecosystem.

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Apple introduced iPad at the exact same price. At the time, it was also "unproven." People mocked the name and questioned whether there was a purpose for this kind of device. There were also a very limited amount of iPad-native apps (I do not count pixel-doubled iPhone apps).

The entry price for the current model iPad remains $500. The iPad was and continues to be a hit.

The biggest thing MS has to do to get into the game is battle the notion that the only tablet worth buying is the iPad, which seems to be consumer sentiment. Microsoft has begun doing this with some decent-looking commercials as well as touting the Surface-exclusive features such as the admittedly slick cover/keyboard.