Microsoft $899 Surface Pro Tablet Beefs Up Functionality and Features
By Karla Robinson
December 3, 2012
December 3, 2012
Apple has been criticized for its premium pricing on its iPad tablets (the latest 64GB version costs $699), especially in light of cheaper competitors that have entered the market.- But consumers have been willing to pay that price for the rich user experience and sleek hardware. With the new Surface Pro offering from Microsoft, the question arises: Are Windows fans as willing to spend big bucks?
- A more powerful version of the Surface RT tablet, the Windows 8 Surface Pro tablet costs $899 for 64GB, and that’s without a keyboard, Wired reports.
- “Unlike the Surface with Windows RT, which runs on ARM-based chips and only serves up a stripped-down version of Windows, the Surface Pro runs a full-fledged version of Windows 8 Pro on an Intel Core i5 chip. One of the biggest differences: The Surface Pro will run existing Windows 7 applications,” explains Wired in a related article. “In addition to the Core i5 processor, Microsoft announced that the Surface Pro will have a 1920×1080 resolution, a full-size USB 3.0 port, and Mini DisplayPort for external display support.”
- The tablet comes with a stylus and enables on-device note taking. It aims to be both a PC and tablet, but it’s uncertain if customers will justify spending more.
- “Fuller-featured Windows 8 convertible/hybrid tablet-laptops like Lenovo’s new Yoga 13, start at $1,099. So it seems Microsoft is not really going after the iPad directly, but instead pushing a new, yet undefined category of device,” Wired writer Mike Barton states. “But the price has kept me looking at the $199 Google Nexus 7 tablet.”
- “Compared with iPad and its rich app ecosystem, is the Surface Pro dead on arrival given its price?” asks Barton. “Will this new device category take off? Do consumers and business want a full Windows device in a tablet form — and will they pay a premium for it?”
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