Which will you get Surface 8 or Surface RT?

[atulsurface]

I will get the one on which I would be able to develop the surface applications directly on device itself.

 

[Tech]

Windows 8 version. The RT version hasn't impressed me just yet. My opinion might change when the official release of all the specs come out ^_^

 

[jwilkins]

I'm looking at the 8.

 

[akayareal]

The Pro version to me is set up for defeat in that it will be released 3 months after the RT version. This means it will miss out on the xmas season and will leave room for the OEMs that will be putting out Pro versions to snatch up those who (like me) are impatient when options are in front of you.

 

[Tech]

The Pro version to me is set up for defeat in that it will be released 3 months after the RT version. This means it will miss out on the xmas season and will leave room for the OEMs that will be putting out Pro versions to snatch up those who (like me) are impatient when options are in front of you.

They already messed (keep it family friendly!!) up and missed out on the back to School (Fall season) buying freenzy...

 

[JoppeVR]

(RT) I'm thinking of buying a tablet and if the surface is around $500 for 32gb it's cheaper than the iPad, I also think the Surface's better looking,.... So only the price matters too me

 

[akayareal]

Well at this price point, there is no doubt I will get a Surface RT and if the Pro is as competitively priced as this (Ipad price range) then I can see developers developing apps for the simple fact this should fly off shelves.


Microsoft Surface for Windows RT tablet coming October 26th for $199?

 

[J515OP]

Wow, I can't believe that price! The Surface RT is so much of an unknown but I have a hard time believing a $199 price given the materials and size of the table alone. I really hope that price is correct but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[akayareal]

Wow, I can't believe that price! The Surface RT is so much of an unknown but I have a hard time believing a $199 price given the materials and size of the table alone. I really hope that price is correct but I'm not holding my breath.

This is the same strategy used when MS and Sony released the 360 and PS3. Make it affordable at a loss per unit and make your money back from game sales, in this case apps.

You can look at it as them standing to make more if they have it in 5mil ppls hands buying a average of 2-3 apps a week (with a healthy app store driven by the demand because of sales of the hardware) instead of 500,000 ppls hands at 1 app every 2-3 weeks because of a week ecosystem because of overpricing or even pricing the same as a Ipad.

This is wise seeing how WP never really took off and they had no control of device sales. Now that they can control pricing, they stand to make more in a quicker time frame.

 

[J515OP]

I understand your logic to a point and the Xbox is an example but not the same situation. Amazon and Google can pull off this strategy because they have large online stores that bring in tons of revenue despite the first party devices they sell. Even then they sell the tablets near cost with a small loss. They have over 500,000 Android apps, music, movies and books as well Google having an ad based strategy for revenue. On the other hand the WP app store is said to have around 100,000 apps (and from experience the usable apps are far less than Android and iTunes) and they have no books, movies, music or ad strategy compared to Amazon and Google.

So their goal is obviously to build these revenue streams by selling the tablets as a loss leader. The only problem is they don't have the back ground, experience or ecosystems or built in user base (only with respect to apps and media sales) of Amazon and Google. Additionally Amazon and Google are only taking a small loss on each device they sell. Just going by the specs we know the Surface RT device is going to be much more expensive to make than the Fire or Nexus 7.

Considering the size and casing materials alone you are looking at a 10" screen vs. 7" and a 10" case made of Magnesium vs. a 7" case made of plastic. You can reasonably guess this alone will add a couple hundred dollars on to the cost of the device. So instead of MS breaking even or losing a small amount like the others, offering the Surface RT at $200 means they may be losing $200 or more on each device. That would be a huge loss to absorb considering they don't have the systems in place to make it back trough apps or content and it is unclear they will ever break through in this area to the levels of Amazon, Google and iTunes. Of course that is the gamble, that Windows 8 will allow precisely that.

It would be great if they offer the Surface RT starting at $200 but I am skeptical. More than likely they will sell it close to cost if they intend on using it as a loss leader which by guesstimate would make it more like $300-$400. The Surface RT performance is still a great mystery but if it is around the same performance as a Nexus 7 then even $300-$400 would be a great price considering the size and features we do know and I'm not sure that MS would need to drop to the $200 range to go head to head with Amazon and Google to have success with Surface RT.

 

[akayareal]

MS has been lossing money on the whole WP front from day 1. Their bread and butter has been W7 and XBox. RT is their 1st tablet and is based off of the whole 8 platform that they are gearing the whole company from. I think they are at a all or nothing approach with their mobile platform of 8. I think this makes a good deal of sense. They are behind the curve in the mobile device world of tablets and phones. Only way to get a their foot in the door is to do their best to flood the market and buy offering a 10 in device with top specs at the price of a top notch 7in tablet.

Have to love competition, drives greed out of companies.

Microsoft reportedly doesn’t care if its $199 Surface tablet pushes partners out of the market

Microsoft (MSFT) is reportedly well aware that pricing its entry-level Windows RT tablet at $199 will push its vendor partners out of the market, but it might launch the device at that remarkably low price point anyway. Citing multiple unnamed sources from notebook vendors, Digitimes on Thursday reported that Microsoft’s hardware partners are very worried about the possibility of a $199 Surface tablet. Unless Microsoft only sells the device in the United States, partners including ASUS (2357), Lenovo (0992), Samsung (005930) and Dell (DELL) may stop developing Windows RT tablets since they will not be able to compete at that price.

According to the report, Microsoft knows very well that it is angering its partners but it doesn’t seem to care. “The sources pointed out that Microsoft is fully aware that its actions have greatly offended its notebook clients, and therefore is trying to achieve success and acquire at least 30% share in the tablet PC market,” Digitimes’s Monica Chen wrote. ”A price of US$199 is expected to allow the company to achieve its needed goal.”