Last month, Microsoft made waves when it announced that it was not only renaming its Surface table-based touchscreen technology, but more importantly using the “Surface” branding for a new iPad competitor running the touch-friendly Windows 8 and featuring a keyboard built into the cover. Now, we may have a price.
According to Engadget, a source has said that the Windows RT version of the Surface tablets will cost $199 in America when Microsoft launches them later this year.
The move would make sense, especially as both Android and iOS practically own the tablet market at the moment, with the latter of these controlling more tablet share than anything else with the Apple iPad.
For Microsoft to join the tablet game and grab high numbers, it will need more than just an amazing product; it will need an amazing product with an even more amazing price, one that’s just too good to be true.
With the possibility of a tablet coming in at under the two hundred dollar mark, even if it lands at just under three hundred locally (once you factor in taxes), that could push people over the edge, especially if it includes Microsoft staples such as Office, Outlook, Skype, and support for Xbox Live games.
Couple this with the tablet cover with built-in keyboard, and Microsoft could potentially be providing one of the most inexpensive tablet-laptop hybrids to see the light of day, if the price is true, that is.
It’s worth pointing out that the model this price is rumoured to apply to is one based on Windows RT, a special version of Windows designed for ARM processors, and may not be compatible with every piece of software that will be sold on the Windows 8 application marketplace, due to differences in the operating system and hardware.
