Surface Pro pricing revealed: $899 for 64GB and $999 for 128GB

[Jos]

Following the release of the Surface with Windows RT last month, Microsoft has finally announced a release date and pricing details for the Intel-based variant equipped to run the full-fledge version of the operating system. As expected, it won’t be priced to compete with the iPad. Arriving in January, the Surface Pro will be available in 64GB and 128GB flavors, priced at $899 and $999 respectively.

Both models feature an Intel Core i5 processor with integrated Intel HD 4000 graphics, 4GB of RAM, a 10.6-inch display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, a USB 3.0 port, and 4-5 hours of battery life.

That price doesn't include one of the nearly-obligatory keyboards that go with the Surface, however, which are sold separately at $120 for the Touch Cover and $130 for the Type Cover. To put that into perspective, add a cover and you have a starting price of $1,019, or $20 more than a similarly spec’d 11-inch Macbook Air -- give or take a couple of features like longer battery life but an inferior screen resolution on the Air.

Of course, the Surface Pro is not meant to rival laptops. Not yet, at least. Even though it offers a full desktop OS capable of running x86 applications, it’s more a portability, functionality, and form factor proposition.

But at that price it won’t be an easy sell. Aside from the consumer confusion it will likely generate when people have to decide between two Surface tablets that look almost the same but are priced ~$500 apart, it will nonetheless have to compete with a range of ultrabooks and hybrid machines that offer more for less.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/50955-surface-pro-pricing-revealed-899-for-64gb-and-999-for-128gb.html

 

[Guest]

Why not?, I will take two.

 

[Guest]

Desktop forever.

 

[Littleczr]

No problem. I'll buy two, one for my bed and another for my desk. I'll just put it on credit. LOL

 

[lipe123]

And thus the term Microsoft Tax was born.

Holy crap man its 2x the price of the ipad and its essentially the same thing in the eyes of the end user.

The HD4000 video is useless for anything other than watching DVD's (it has no optical drive?!) or playing facebook games. I just dont understand where the surface is supposed to be used, It's worse than any ultrabook and its better than the ipad but its not really great at anything and its DAMN expensive.

 

[Darkshadoe]

Applesoft?

 

[Guest]

I love Microsoft products, but as with the original Surface, I don't know what Microsoft is thinking here. First off, the Surface was a dumb idea. I believe that people like to use tablets for the same reason I do. They are compact, easy to use in bed or a couch, and HAVE NO MOVING PARTS to fiddle with. And now to charge over $1000 (with a keyboard) for the Pro version? I can almost buy a baseline MacBook Pro for that. And I can definitely buy the most costly iPad with cash left over. This is just a dumb, dumb move. And it's unfortunate to see Microsoft make these mistakes.

 

[Vrmithrax]

And thus the term Microsoft Tax was born.

Holy crap man its 2x the price of the ipad and its essentially the same thing in the eyes of the end user.

The HD4000 video is useless for anything other than watching DVD's (it has no optical drive?!) or playing facebook games. I just dont understand where the surface is supposed to be used, It's worse than any ultrabook and its better than the ipad but its not really great at anything and its DAMN expensive.

Fact check... Go to the Apple Store, and try to buy a new 64Gb iPad for $450 or a 128Gb for $500. Or, I can save you the trouble: The 64Gb iPad is $699, and you can't buy a 128Gb iPad. So, now that the whole "twice the price of an iPad" part is out of the way... For the $200 more you spend on a Surface, you get an active digitizer & pen, full x86 support that will run FULL legacy programs (not just scaled down apps), actual industry standard ports built in... I hope you can see where I'm going with this.

It's a decent product, I'm not totally sold on Windows 8 vs RT on this form factor, but I'm getting terribly tired of everyone jabbing at the cost and screaming about how it's too expensive. For what this does, and what you get in terms of hardware, this is very comparable to something like a similarly spec'd ultrabook. What's ridiculously expensive is the extremely limited iPad, yet everyone runs out to buy those... Go figure.

 

[Guest]

Vrmithrax,

You may be entirely correct. But it doesn't matter what is entirely correct. What matters is what works. And the Apple iPad strategy works just like their iPhone strategy.

 

[oldikes]

And thus the term Microsoft Tax was born.

Holy crap man its 2x the price of the ipad and its essentially the same thing in the eyes of the end user.

The HD4000 video is useless for anything other than watching DVD's (it has no optical drive?!) or playing facebook games. I just dont understand where the surface is supposed to be used, It's worse than any ultrabook and its better than the ipad but its not really great at anything and its DAMN expensive.

Fact check... Go to the Apple Store, and try to buy a new 64Gb iPad for $450 or a 128Gb for $500. Or, I can save you the trouble: The 64Gb iPad is $699, and you can't buy a 128Gb iPad. So, now that the whole "twice the price of an iPad" part is out of the way... For the $200 more you spend on a Surface, you get an active digitizer & pen, full x86 support that will run FULL legacy programs (not just scaled down apps), actual industry standard ports built in... I hope you can see where I'm going with this.

It's a decent product, I'm not totally sold on Windows 8 vs RT on this form factor, but I'm getting terribly tired of everyone jabbing at the cost and screaming about how it's too expensive. For what this does, and what you get in terms of hardware, this is very comparable to something like a similarly spec'd ultrabook. What's ridiculously expensive is the extremely limited iPad, yet everyone runs out to buy those... Go figure.

oh I agree, its just that the people who will buy this won't necessarily see any advantage whatsoever over over tablets or laptops or ultrabooks.

 

[Vrmithrax]

oh I agree, its just that the people who will buy this won't necessarily see any advantage whatsoever over over tablets or laptops or ultrabooks.

I'm not so sure... Nobody thought the iPad would take off like it did either, since it was just a bigger version of the iPod/iPhone, running the same (or similar) apps. Many (including me) couldn't see how consumers would find an advantage in the form, but they did, and it's sold like crazy. I'm betting that as the tablet form factor becomes more ingrained in the mobile / computing marketplace, the advantages of something like the Surface will become more important to the consumers. I would guess that is what Microsoft is betting on as well. But the expansion of basic tablet appliances and blending/improvement of apps to make them closer to desktop programs is a trend that will make it harder to get the Surface concept entrenched... It's a race for relevance.

 

[oldikes]

Are you kidding? I knew the ipad was gonna take off. It was simply an apple product. People believe propoganda that ipads can do X that ipods cant. Most consumers dont care to actually learn about what they are buying, so they think the ipad is as awesome as apple says it is. MOST CONSUMERS WOULDNT KNOW ANY DIFFERENCE LET ALONE ADVANTAGE of x86 support over cheap ARM apps and games on their overpriced hardware.

 

[R3DP3NGUIN]

I haven't bought a tablet yet. I have used an iPad and also Android tablets. I felt to restricted and thought they were purely expensive toys. Windows 8 Pro tablets are a different story, I currently have an MSI U270 netbook which runs sweet with Win 8 Pro, I would be happy to ditch it for one of these. I was looking at the Samsung ATIV Smart PC pro series but there like $1400

 

[lawfer]

And thus the term Microsoft Tax was born.

Holy crap man its 2x the price of the ipad and its essentially the same thing in the eyes of the end user.

The HD4000 video is useless for anything other than watching DVD's (it has no optical drive?!) or playing facebook games. I just dont understand where the surface is supposed to be used, It's worse than any ultrabook and its better than the ipad but its not really great at anything and its DAMN expensive.

Fact check... Go to the Apple Store, and try to buy a new 64Gb iPad for $450 or a 128Gb for $500. Or, I can save you the trouble: The 64Gb iPad is $699, and you can't buy a 128Gb iPad. So, now that the whole "twice the price of an iPad" part is out of the way... For the $200 more you spend on a Surface, you get an active digitizer & pen, full x86 support that will run FULL legacy programs (not just scaled down apps), actual industry standard ports built in... I hope you can see where I'm going with this.

It's a decent product, I'm not totally sold on Windows 8 vs RT on this form factor, but I'm getting terribly tired of everyone jabbing at the cost and screaming about how it's too expensive. For what this does, and what you get in terms of hardware, this is very comparable to something like a similarly spec'd ultrabook. What's ridiculously expensive is the extremely limited iPad, yet everyone runs out to buy those... Go figure.

oh I agree, its just that the people who will buy this won't necessarily see any advantage whatsoever over over tablets or laptops or ultrabooks.

Except this is both an ultrabook and a tablet. How is there no discernible advantage--in and of itself--when compared to the iPad?

You also leave the fact that only people that read sites like these know about the Surface Pro. The advantage over the iPad--and the Surafce RT for that matter--couldn't be clearer.

 

[Vrmithrax]

Are you kidding? I knew the ipad was gonna take off. It was simply an apple product. People believe propoganda that ipads can do X that ipods cant. Most consumers dont care to actually learn about what they are buying, so they think the ipad is as awesome as apple says it is. MOST CONSUMERS WOULDNT KNOW ANY DIFFERENCE LET ALONE ADVANTAGE of x86 support over cheap ARM apps and games on their overpriced hardware.

And that is where Microsoft needs work. They've already been barraging us with Surface ads and commercials. But, those ads don't spell out how superior the Surface hardware is. They need to find a way to push the "cool" factor, just like Apple did with the iPad, if they want to establish a real beachhead in the marketplace.

We're not saying different things... Microsoft has its work cut out for it to justify the price point to consumers. Just like Apple did with the expensive iPad, when it first hit. The big difference is that Apple has a way with advertising, and a rabid following that will buy anything "Apple" if it's new and shiny, so they had a massive head start. And, like many in the industry, I underestimated just how much advantage Apple has there when the iPad came out!

 

[davimous]

For me its all about the spreadsheets. Being able to use excel while on the go is a huge advantage that could save me many hours of data entry later.

 

[misor]

Wow, the 999$ 128gb windows surface pro is tempting.
too bad I can't afford it now..at that price...and half the battery life of windows surface rt...

throw a keyboard dock with extra battery then I will seriously consider buying it.

 

[Guest]

Windows 8 Phone (nokia 822)
Windows 8 MicroSoft Surface Pro (have RT right now)
Windows 8 HTPC
&
Windows 7 gaming rig


That^ is me, how am I not square dab norm? More people live withing Microsoft's ecosystem, than within Apple's.


Lastly, How does a Microsoft Surface Pro tablet, not fit into most people needs? Most my adult friends (30's ~ 40's) don't own tablets yet, they are frivilous and a want, not a need. (But they do all own clunky outdated 4 year old laptops.)

Yet, the surface easily bridges the gap of frivilous want, to a need. Most see the Surface as getting rid of a laptop and gaining a laptop AND a tablet.. & lets not forget MS office skydive. Plus, other Tablets are not seamless within my ecosystem & every other tablet doesn't allow for ME to move files, or use it as a hardware device, except these WinRT devices.

Does Apple even support microSD?

 

[captaincranky]

It's probably just a knee jerk reaction, but that snap together plastic junk that is "Surface", doesn't even come close to making a "this is worth one thousand dollars", impression on me.

 

[Guest]

okay, it's really funny..

Holy crap man its 2x the price of the ipad and its essentially the same thing in the eyes of the end user.
-->it's not the same as iPad, just check it's capability. If you want the same as iPad, buy microsoft RT which is also at the same price level as iPad

The HD4000 video is useless for anything other than watching DVD's (it has no optical drive?!) or playing facebook games.
--> tell me how many ultrabooks you can find out there using discrete graphic card? mostly use intel HD.. Anyway, intel HD is capable playing Crysis2, Modern Warfare or Skyrim at lowest setting.. and why you need more than intel HD in a tablet anyway? if you want a tablet with more graphic capability, then wait for tablet that use APU

it has no optical drive
--> macbook air and new macbook pro line with retina display also has no optical drive and so for many ultrabooks.. but, in this case, tell me tablet that has built in optical drive..

I just dont understand where the surface is supposed to be used, It's worse than any ultrabook and its better than the ipad but its not really great at anything and its DAMN expensive
--> while you don't understand, there are people who still understand how it's supposed to be used. To make it easy for you, I'll highlight from the article "it offers a full desktop OS capable of running x86 applications, it's more portability...etc". To make it more clear: it's a tablet that offers desktop-like OS capable of running x86 applications.

 

[misor]

okay, it's really funny..

Holy crap man its 2x the price of the ipad and its essentially the same thing in the eyes of the end user.
-->it's not the same as iPad, just check it's capability. If you want the same as iPad, buy microsoft RT which is also at the same price level as iPad

The HD4000 video is useless for anything other than watching DVD's (it has no optical drive?!) or playing facebook games.
--> tell me how many ultrabooks you can find out there using discrete graphic card? mostly use intel HD.. Anyway, intel HD is capable playing Crysis2, Modern Warfare or Skyrim at lowest setting.. and why you need more than intel HD in a tablet anyway? if you want a tablet with more graphic capability, then wait for tablet that use APU

it has no optical drive
--> macbook air and new macbook pro line with retina display also has no optical drive and so for many ultrabooks.. but, in this case, tell me tablet that has built in optical drive..

I just dont understand where the surface is supposed to be used, It's worse than any ultrabook and its better than the ipad but its not really great at anything and its DAMN expensive
--> while you don't understand, there are people who still understand how it's supposed to be used. To make it easy for you, I'll highlight from the article "it offers a full desktop OS capable of running x86 applications, it's more portability...etc". To make it more clear: it's a tablet that offers desktop-like OS capable of running x86 applications.

agree!

 

[Guest]

Good luck selling any at that price point it's a total joke.

 

[SCJake]

Now I dont know what all these complaints about price are for...
some assumptions made here as to exact hardware, but

i5-3610ME (intel - site i5 mobile chip with HD4k) $276.00
Touch screen 12.1 inch (Newegg - LESS resolution than surface pro) 500
SSD (Newegg - 128GB crucial) 115
Mouse/KB combo (Newegg - zotak kb with trackpad) 50
4GB RAM (Newegg - 2x2GB) 20
Mainboard (unknown) ~100
wireless (unknown) ~20
Windows 8 Pro (softwaremedia OEM 64bit) 99

now I know the screen is probably way off, but the resolution is only 800x600 as opposed to 1920x1080, and im not including a case. all in all that come in total to... Drumroll Please!!!!

$1180

so I think ill call their price justified, expecially considering the fact that theirs is in tablet form, and MUCH more refined. stop saying "its too expensive" for a laptop with those specs

 

[captaincranky]

so I think ill call their price justified, expecially considering the fact that theirs is in tablet form, and MUCH more refined. stop saying "its too expensive" for a laptop with those specs

The price may be fully justified. However, it's the marketing that doesn't support it, rather than the hardware.

M$ has chosen to attempt to be "Apple Suave", and use a hipster, me too approach, to their TV marketing campaign.

While that may suck in a bunch of unsophisticated consumers, it may not fly as well with a pro, or even someone who wants to do some serious computing, rather than adapt their tablet as a TV remote control.

Personally, when I see people flying through the air, snapping keyboards onto tablets, the first thing I think off is how M$ is copying "Lego", then either hit the mute button, or change the channel.....

 

[SCJake]

I agree. The marketing approach is definitely geared toward college student "hipsters" while product is most definitely geared toward those who might actually be business professionals taking the tablet on a trip or a marketing show. Plus the whole Mapple$oft marketing approach (shot at both of them for you onesided fanboys wherever you are!) is just awful.

Yes I get it, youre trying to be new and cool, but tbh the only people that will really use these products are professionals. either that or spoiled rich high schoolers