<p>The pricing for the lower-end version of the Microsoft Surface is $500 or $600 with the touch cover or $700 for more capacity and a touch cover. The base capacity is 32GB. That’s a selling point; the iPad3 with 16GB is the same price. </p>
<p>The pricing is clearly designed to drive people to spend more; the most desirable option is the most expensive. That is, you can buy the touch cover for $120, so it makes sense to bundle, which puts you at $600. For $100 more, you get a lot more storage, 64GB. (I have a 64GB iPad2 and haven’t managed to fill it up.)</p>
<p>People who expected pricing to rival the Kindle Fire were dead wrong. I never expected that: MS is not in this to lose money on each device. As is, because they don’t have the same efficiencies as Apple in their supply chain, I’d bet their margins are razor thin, assuming they’re making money at all on each device. (We obviously haven’t seen a tear down and cost analysis of just the parts, let alone R&D and marketing costs.) The pricing is line with the guesses that the full version of Windows on the surface will be over $700, meaning more expensive than vast numbers of Windows laptops. </p>
<p>This tablet has no cell. It’s wifi. That matters to me; I use the cell often, such as when I’m in a car or on the many occasions when wifi in public is dead slow or unresponsive.</p>
<p>I saw a really cool commercial for this yesterday and became curious about it. Then I saw the price today and lost interest again. But the commercial was creative!</p>
<p>I just read an article suggesting that if you are an Apple person - iPhone, iPod, iPad, Macbook, etc. - the only thing that might entice you to try the Surface would be a lower price. I didn’t realize it was only wifi. That does seem pretty limiting.</p>
<p>Not a limiting factor for me. Wifi are as ubiquitous here in my neck of the woods as Starbucks. And in places where there is no cell coverage, like on a plane, there is a gogo or something wifiish. The biggest issue for me is how well the Surface will handle my Office, especially Excell. That, and some Adobe issues.</p>
<p>Early reports are the lowest priced model is selling, but we have no idea how many are being made, what’s in the pipeline, etc. </p>
<p>I think of this product as MS staking a long-term claim, not as something which they’re heavily betting on as a short term success. They’re not stupid. They can see tablets are replacing many PC’s, particularly the kind of PC’s that Windows runs. They also looked at what was happening in the tablet market: Google putting out an OS for no charge. They could see a huge problem coming: declining PC sales and no incentive for their traditional manufacturing partners to pay for a Windows license rather than use Android. As a note, I’ve long said the real fight hasn’t been about Google and Apple but Google and Microsoft because the latter is the one at risk of being frozen out of the future. </p>
<p>BTW, I’m somewhat amazed by Samsung. People don’t realize - and the press seems largely ignorant - that a core business, a true core business is chip making and that Apple is one of if not the largest customers. Now Apple is, rationally given the circumstances, pulling away from Samsung and moving its chip business to other suppliers. If that continues and the signs are the shift may be done next year, that will cost Samsung many billions. As a note, this affects, for example, a plant in Austin which makes the A6 for Apple. </p>
<p>Samsung also makes a number of screens for Apple. That business I’ve read may also be moving to other suppliers. More money lost over a stupid fight. And by stupid I mean that court documents show Apple offered to license the patents to Samsung. Maybe that was a ploy - who can tell? - but if you have billions in revenue at stake my thought is the CEO and Board should be thinking hard about that and less about fighting a war of attrition.</p>
<p>BTW, in case it’s not clear, I’m rooting for MS with the Surface. I think the future needs more, not less competition. This isn’t MS versus Apple. Apple is currently selling quite literally every single iPad and iPhone it can make - and unlike competitors, when it reports sales, it doesn’t include inventory or items shipped to distributors, just actual sales. I have no faith in Ballmer’s management but I know MS has lots of talented people.</p>
<p>The Surface RT OS takes up 10 GB. Apple’s iOS takes up about 1 GB. Android takes up less than 2 GB. So the 16/32/64 isn’t so clear. The Surface is running Windows so I expect that there will be overhead on running anti-virus and anti-spyware processes in the background and running periodic anti-malware scans. I also expect that wonderful process called Windows Updates which can take over my Windows desktops for 1-10 minutes when I want to shut down. Those updates hang around on my machine for a long time too and they can be quite large.</p>
<p>I’d be more interested in an x86 product. With an x86 product, I can run the Windows legacy software, along with Linux virtual machines.</p>
<p>I don’t think viristas are busy writing Windows RT viri as we speak :). RT is not binary compatible with x86… But I agree, I’d love an iPad sized x86 tablet instead of lugging my netbook. </p>
<p>I do think the price is excessive, but I also expect Xbox360-like price drops in a few months. The 32gb needs to be 300$ or so, maybe 350-400 with a cover. If apps are easy to port/cross compile on RT, we’re in business.</p>
<p>Recent zero-day attacks have focused on Flash and Java as entry points. They should work on Windows RT systems, up to the point of an executable payload if any.</p>
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<p>Apps from where? iOS or Android? Windows x86? What about the performance delta?</p>
<p>Microsoft clearly wants to make money - they aren’t giving the hardware away like Google and Amazon.</p>
<p>I’d say MS is maybe breaking even, maybe making a little money, if we assume - which I think is rational - that they don’t have the same control over supply chain pricing, inventory, etc. as Apple. Remember, Apple has had years to perfect this part of the game. Experience of Android tablet makers is they really aren’t making anything at the $500 price, that contrary to market expectations Apple is the low cost manufacturer at the higher end of tablets.</p>
<p>I don’t see the 16GB v. 32GB as much of a difference but some people might.</p>
<p>I don’t see how apps can be shifted to this tablet easily. That is a huge issue: people are now writing for at least 2 other operating systems and they’re earning coin almost all from iOS. It’s a tough nut to crack. I think that’s one reason why MS wants control of the hardware and see a need to be in this for the long run.</p>
<p>You can run Windows 8 on it. And you can run Notepad. And you can run Microsoft Office Student and Home. Office comes bundled in. Of course if you want to use it for work, you have to upgrade your license.</p>
<p>Is the surface going to run Office? Supposedly. If it does, it will stand apart from iPad. It is not going to completely replace my PC. I already have both, but I’m tired of lugging both on plane trips. I will play with one at the MSFT store and see if this is something I want to add to my collection of i-junk.</p>
<p>The Surface RT comes with Microsoft Office Student and Home Edition bundled in. It supposedly does not have all of the functionality of the x86 version and isn’t licensed for commercial (work) use.</p>
<p>I’d suggest getting the Surface Pro when it comes out if you want to do real work on it and have access to all of your legacy applications.</p>
<p>Both are going to be light on tablet apps for quite some time.</p>
<p>The reviews are mostly positive. I’m going to check it out at the store in the mall. The major issue is: will I be able to open and work on my old MS Office documents. I’m going to grab a few on a memory stick and take it with me. We’ll see. :)</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure that you will be able to work on your old documents but you will have to buy a license for Office.</p>
<p>I like what I have read about the Pro but I would like to wait for Haswell as it should use significantly less power which should get the battery life up to a full working day.</p>
<p>It is an odd beast but we’ll see whether the market cares about the negatives or positives the reviewers focused on. </p>
<p>I think they should have bundled Office with it because that would drive sales. But I assume internal politics at MS make that impossible. </p>
<p>I would not buy this iteration because, as BC notes, the battery life is not good. I’ve been reading actuals of 3.5 to 4.5 hours. That’s a step backwards.</p>