Microsoft Details Surface Pro Pricing Amidst Reports of Poor Sales of RT Version

[MacRumors]

Microsoft announced pricing information on its Surface Pro tablet this morning. The tablet will cost $899 for the 64GB version and $999 for the 128GB version. The Surface Pro comes equipped with an Intel Core i5 processor with Intel HD Graphics 4000, 4GB of RAM, and a display with a resolution of 1920 by 1080.

Instead of running Windows RT like the standard version of the Surface released earlier this month, the Surface Pro tablet will run the full version of Windows 8. The tablet will ship with a Surface pen, but it does not include a Touch or Type Cover, each of which cost another $100. While the official announcement didn't include information on the Surface Pro's battery life, the spec list on Microsoft's website lists a 42 watt-hour battery.

Engadget, however, discovered a tweet from a curious Twitter user revealing that the tablet will have a battery life half as long as the Surface RT. After asking for more information on the battery, the user received a reply directly from Microsoft's official Twitter account:

@shahroom Hey Shahroom, #Surface pro will have approximately half the batter life of Surface RT. -- Surface (@surface) November 29, 2012

The RT version of the Surface officially has an eight hour battery life with some testers finding slightly longer running times, implying that the Surface Pro will feature a battery life of roughly four-and-a-half hours, less than most laptops. This low battery life information comes at a time when Microsoft is seeing poor sales of the Surface RT. A report on Black Friday from Piper Jaffray revealed that the brick and mortar Microsoft stores experienced low Surface sales in comparison to iPad sales at the Apple Store.

There was 47% less foot traffic at the Microsoft (MSFT) outlet than the Apple (AAPL) store. Shoppers bought 17.2 items per hour at the Apple Store and only 3.5 items per hour at the Microsoft Store. All but two of the Microsoft purchases were X-Box games. Shoppers at the Apple Store bought an average of 11 iPads per hour. Despite heavy TV, print and billboard advertising for the new Microsoft Surface tablet, not one was sold sold during the two hours Piper Jaffray spent monitoring that store. Doesn't bode well for Microsoft's answer to the iPad.

A recent report from Digitimes also indicates that Microsoft has reduced its tablet orders and may consider lowering the price of the Surface RT.

The upstream supply chain of Microsoft's Surface RT has recently seen the tablet's orders reduced by half, and with other Windows RT-based tablet orders also seeing weak performance, sources from the upstream supply chain believe the new operating system may not perform as well as expected in the market. Microsoft originally expected to ship four million Surface RT devices by the end of 2012, but has recently reduced the orders by half to only two million units. The sources also noted that Microsoft may consider reducing its Surface Pro price to attract more consumers; however, such a decision may put the already awkward relationship between the software giant and notebook vendors in an even worse situation.

The Surface RT is currently available from Microsoft for $499 for the entry level 32GB tablet. There was no specific release date mentioned for the Surface Pro, but it is expected to be released in January 2013.

Article Link: Microsoft Details Surface Pro Pricing Amidst Reports of Poor Sales of RT Version

[chirpie]

Microsoft feels more like Rodney Dangerfield everyday.

[Kaibelf]

Blah blah blah Apple is doomed blah blah blah game changer from MS...... oh wait.

[InfinitiG]

another fail for microsoft

[uaecasher]

another fail for Microsoft, they're increasingly becoming irrelevant to Apple, real competitor is Android

[MisterKeeks]

$1,000 for a keyboardless laptop? 100 dollar keyboard addons? I think I'll pass.

[nfl46]

Cheaper than I thought it would be. I was thinking at least 1k plus for it.

Many people were probably waiting on the Pro.

[TreyCox]

Wow. Not sounding good for MSFT. Sounding spectacular for AAPL.

[Yamcha]

Sad that Windows 8 has flopped, the sales of the OS and Surface aren't doing as well as they expected.. Not entirely surprised though, I've been seeing constant complaints by advanced and basic users all over the internet..

[ArchAndroid]

Comparing to the iPad isn't really fair. One of every two tablets sold is an iPad. By that yardstick, every non-Apple tablet in existence suffers from poor sales.

I think the MS Surface will find its niche in the market and sell well down the line. It's obviously not ever going to make it onto the rostrum with the iPad and iPad Mini for raw sales, but I can see users being much more productive on a Surface than on an iPad.

[DaMike8]

900 dollars for a tablet? LOL what a joke.

[Mr. Gates]

Originally Posted by InfinitiG

another fail for microsoft

Not sure how its a fail.

It's not even for sale yet. Lets see how people respond to it before we start up with the usual partisan bashing.

For a touch, 1080p like this, I would say it ain't bad.

And I can guarantee you 90% of people who want this were waiting for the Pro.

I admit, RT is a joke, but this might be pretty sweet

[marksman]

Microsoft Surface: The Tablet for people who have never heard of an iPad.

[Mr. Gates]

Originally Posted by DaMike8

900 dollars for a tablet? LOL what a joke.

It's not just a tablet.

It's a full blown Windows machine

[Captain B]

Comparing it to the iPad makes it look bad as a tablet; at a thousand bucks you compare it to a MacBook Air. And it looks dreadful.

Well done, Ballmer.

[sillyrabbit137]

my MSFT short will be happy soon

[rei101]

The TV commercials does not make me wanna buy them, they do not show functionality, Apple commercials SHOW functionality.


I mean, in every Surface commercial you see people dancing or a keyboard attached to the tablet... ok... but you do not even see Microsoft Office running on them... NOTHING! So... "how does surfing the web looks like in a Surface?" who knows. That is why people are not buying it.

[Imac&SoShouldU]

Never thought I'd say this but: I feel sorry for the evil empire "Micro$oft" Strange days.....

[Mr. Gates]

Originally Posted by marksman

Microsoft Surface: The Tablet for people who have never heard of an iPad.

Install a torrent client on your iPad, I dare you. Or any other Mac program.

You can't do it, I'll tell you why because everyone is confused :That's a big iPod touch !

This is a full OS WITH ...( W I T H ) touch

[Navdakilla]

wow. this will not sell

I understand this is a full blown windows machine.. but with a rubber keyboard? and touch screen? people want productivity out of full OS's not a toy

[jayducharme]

Originally Posted by Mr. Gates

It's not just a tablet. It's a full blown Windows machine

I think that's the key to this device. It's what a lot of people said they were waiting for. The price point seems a bit high and the battery life seems a bit low. But the big determiner of its success will be its adoption by businesses.

[kbt1020]

The kickstand itself worth $699.95. The rest is the cost of the tablet

[knemonic]

Anyone think these could go the way of the touchpad?

And as always, too little, too late, Microsoft.

Another bites the dust.

[Leonard1818]

Originally Posted by InfinitiG

another fail for microsoft

A tablet that can do more things like a computer... sounds like a not-so-fail to me. but with your 4-word post, I'm sure you have really thought about this quite a bit.

[thermal]

It's unfortunate MS Surface seems to be struggling. Healthy competition is good for all consumers, including Apple fans.