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Microsoft Surface Price Pegged at $199

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The Windows RT Microsoft Surface could come in at the same price of the Nexus 7 when it comes to market on October 26.

According to Engadget Microsoft plans to release the Surface with a $199 price tag. The price comes from a source who attended Microsoft’s TechReady15 conference where the company discussed the launch plans for the tablet.

The possible price could explain why companies like Acer are asking Microsoft to think twice about the tablet. A $199 Surface with Windows RT would undercut tablets from almost every other manufacturer. It would place the base model at the same price as the Nexus 7 and Amazon Kindle Fire.

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If Microsoft does release the Surface at $199, it will undercut the iPad by $300, and occupy the price range normally reserved for 7-inch tablets. The price could mean more sales than if Microsoft priced it competitively with the iPad, which would mean more users have access to Windows RT.

Such a low price point would be a huge win for Microsoft and consumers, assuming consumers actually want to buy the Surface. The Surface will run every Metro app in the Windows Store, as well as a stripped-down version of Microsoft Office which Microsoft bundles with every Windows RT tablet. We know there are some users than want Office on a tablet, and to have the suite running on a 10-inch tablet for $199 seems like a great deal.

Microsoft may change its mind on the pricing, but we hope it doesn’t. A Surface that costs as much as an iPad, even an iPad 2, will run into trouble even with Office. A lower price puts it at almost impulse-buy level for some users, and makes the decision to buy one much easier.

20 Comments

20 Comments

  1. David Vega (@twospirits)

    08/14/2012 at 9:22 am

    Whoa, 10 inch tablet, running Microsoft apps and at $199. Too good to be true, but if they pull it off then they will surely be selling a lot of these and get them back in the tablet game.

    make it so Microsoft.

    • Mike Schneider

      08/15/2012 at 8:28 am

      I hope this is true. I think it would be a big win for Microsoft !!

  2. Ant

    08/14/2012 at 9:31 am

    Yep pretty much an impulse buy at that point is correct. I was planning on waiting until the other one came out. But not if this is $199.

    • bro code

      08/14/2012 at 9:57 am

      Exactly, I bet it would be sold out on the very first day at that price.

      • Scott42444

        08/18/2012 at 4:47 pm

        I think I might reserve one because I feel the same way. $500 tablets are too much in my book,because you can buy a laptop for that much. But, at $199, with Office it can actually start to resemble a real computer for 90% of our household computing needs.

  3. gatorproof

    08/14/2012 at 9:44 am

    Great marketing move by MS, their little plant, will freeze the tablet market until October. The Rumor Mill worked for Google. They lead everyone to believe that they were going to get the MeMo 370T and all the extras for $149 to $199.Then of course you got a good by extremely basic tablet, and it make it of any use at all, you paid the $249 for the 16GB because no SD, and the $14 S&H and sales tax, then the tally was $280.
    MS, is doing the same thing, then when the rumor flames are converted to smoke by the water of reality, they go back to what THEY said on their release, sort of. The RT gets a price tag of $199 and then you ad the keyboard and the ram and so on. Then it turns out to be $399 or $499. Just let the press and the rumors do all that free INK for you. Make the buyers hold on to their cash, and they you have a shot at them, just because it is the most talked about thing for 2 months.

  4. dstrauss

    08/14/2012 at 9:57 am

    Absolutely no way! Google and Amazon are already LOSING MONEY on their inferior 7″ Android tablets at $199. Even without keyboard and only the base 32gb ram, Microsoft could not bring the Surface to market at that price. If they did, they would be selling vastly more than “few millions” Ballmer hinted at.

    I better check my calendar, it must be April 1…nice click bait though…

  5. Rich Lueck

    08/17/2012 at 10:55 am

    Unfortunately, the WinRT version will only apps purchased through the M$ app store….
    They learned something from Apple.

    • Scott42444

      08/18/2012 at 4:53 pm

      Still a bargain. I think this is the only way for them to start gaining market share in the mobile space. This will be a Trojan Horse that will lead people to Windows 8 phones and also to start to get used to Windows 8’s Metro UI. If they try to compete at the same price as the iPad, they will stay at the 3rd or 4th spot forever in the tablet space. Google realized this when they put out the premiere 7-inch tablet (at least from what I have seen spec wise) at $199. That is why there is an iPad market, with every other tablet being more of a gimmick (until now). The Nexus 7 and the Windows 8 RT will actually CREATE an actual market for tablet and slate computers. I never understood why other companies thought they should sell tablets in the same price range as Apple, since Apple sells most of their products at a higher price point.

  6. fil180

    08/19/2012 at 4:41 am

    …just read through all the above and seen the full Microsoft promo/demo.
    I think the carrot is being strategically dangled!!!
    Freeze the impending public interest in iPads/tablets…and hold the date for a Christmas market perhaps???
    It looks great…..but someone mentioned add-ons!
    ie: Keyboard, apps…….memory?

    You’d have to pitch in at a pretty good price to sell this product as oppose to a good quality laptop with a more usable screen size for regular users……..Watch this space!!! Phil.

  7. Mandy

    08/25/2012 at 11:10 am

    IF this pricetag is TRUE, I will be the first one as quick as possible to pre-order. If theyre coming out in OCT, thats little less than 2 1/2 months at this point… Get on the ball, and get me one! PLEASE dont delay to sell more on Black friday. For the love of GOD, im not braving a store, online or in person, on Black friday!!!!!!

  8. Chris

    08/30/2012 at 2:29 pm

    The iPad is not a computer. Computers have real operating systems not a jazzed up phone os. The iPad is a pretty, light and very nice entertainment device. It cent run office software. And no, the fake office apps don’t cut it for real business users. We need word forms, actual spreadsheets,os memory card. If surface does this at an iPad price it will be a huge hit. The apple fanboys can keep their cooler than thou isolated world. We want to work and this will be an excellent tool for that.

  9. Mike

    09/01/2012 at 7:44 am

    Microsoft can offer a lower price tag because they are making the Surface Tablets themselves and not outsourcing.

  10. Sign-In

    09/01/2012 at 7:49 am

    $199 is too low and too good to be true.However,if it’s true,then Microsoft will blow the iPad and Kindle out of the water.Microsoft is a company that has its own standards when it comes to pricing and designing.

  11. chuck

    09/03/2012 at 3:42 pm

    I think if they sell these for 200 it isnt going to be the end all price they will come out sell a first wave of tablets get windows out in the world get the apps a flowing because now people actually have there product then change price back to a higher price so there partners can sell there tablets. if they just come out at a higher price no one will buy the rt or not enough to make a difference. and it will flop just like windows 7 phones and tablets pretty much did. plus if they get the tablet out there and it is actually as good as they say it will push great reviews out and word of mouth is a strong thing

  12. Kevin

    09/05/2012 at 12:02 pm

    The other manufacturers forced Microsoft to do this. I believe that MS doesnt trust any of the other guys to produce a tablet utilizing Windows 8 that can be competitive. I say screw them and support MS 100%. There is still plenty of room for other companies to produce products with unique features and designs to compete. In my eyes MS wanted to bring a solid, functional tablet without all the bells and whistles to give their product some consistency. Look at the way Android has been. Until the Nexus 7, you couldnt get an Android tablet that gave you a standard, consistent experience that was easy for the consumer to understand and relate to. Bravo Microsoft. Im selling my Android 4.0 tab and kindle fire and buying 2 RT’s at launch. Among other things having Office integration (even stripped down), a solid web browser (hopefully similar to WP7), home screen with calendar, messaging, and email widgets (tiles), and USB host support are all things that I couldnt get with any other tablet without a ton of different apps and hardware hacks with inconsistent results at best.

    I cant believe that most reviewers cannot look at the Surface through “average consumer” eyes and see how awesome this could be. Most articles I read or some reviewer talking about how the OS sucks, Windows 8 will fail, the price is wrong, hardware is limited, etc and 50+ comments at the bottom of people praising MS for a job well done. Get real and stop being such Apple/Android nut swingers and give credit where credit is due.

    • parker

      09/13/2012 at 1:54 pm

      I totally agree with you. I personally have not bought a tablet because of the price and them not really offering anything a smartphone can’t do…

      I absolutely hope this is true!

  13. billykinnamon

    10/03/2012 at 4:16 pm

    I have been testing the prerelease of the windows 8 OS on a laptop I have. I put an SSD in and loaded the OS and now all I use is this laptop. The OS is amazing and fast and all the other cool words you want use to describe it. When I get my hands on the surface I am sure it will be amazing as well. I can not wait. I have had android phones and I have had iphones and ipads but none are as cool as the windows 8 OS. I also have a Windows 7 phone that I love way more than my fancy iphone. My prediction is that Microsoft will buy out RIM and blackberry when they hit rock bottom and then integrate the business functionality into what is going now and bam that is it. I feel for you Apple because it is a long way down from where you have perched yourself and as you fall can you please take all the douche bags you created with you.

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