Microsoft's Surface Tablets Price Could Start From $400 to $500
Pro version of tablet to retail between $799 to $899, suggests analyst.
An analyst report suggests that Microsoft could sell its upcoming Surface tablets from $400 to $500.
While Microsoft has yet to announce the pricing for Surface (despite there only being a few weeks left until its release), one analyst believes the RT version of the tablet will be priced between $400 - $500 and the Pro between $799 - $899.
Sameer Singh from Tech-Thoughts bases his estimate on previous bill of materials (BOM) calculations for devices such as Amazon's Kindle Fire, Google's Nexus 7 and Apple's iPad.
For the RT version of Surface, Singh's analysis priced each of the following components: the display ($66.95), touch screen ($43.71), processor ($21), camera ($4.10), as well as its battery ($25.74), which equals a total of $308.82 when adding a $10 manufacturing cost.
"Microsoft would be under considerable pressure to ensure that the Surface is priced in the same ballpark as tablets from OEM partners," Singh said. "Unfortunately, OEMs are also at a cost disadvantage," he said, referencing the fact that third parties are required to pay a $50-$65 licensing fee per Windows RT device.
"OEMs could cut some of the costs mentioned in the BOM above to boost margins (for example, they could use a cheaper casing), but Microsoft's hardware requirements could make steep cuts a challenge," he added. "Including the license fee, I expect the BOM of most Windows RT tablets to fall within the $300-$350 range."
Consequently, Surface's RT version is looking likely to launch at the $399 - $499 price, with around 25 to 35 percent gross margin for Microsoft, Singh said.
As for the Pro version, it'll likely retail between $799 - $899. Along with the RT costs, the analyst estimated another $321.35 in BOM components for the Surface Pro, with the considerable portion of that price ($204) attributed to the Intel Core i5 processor.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer had previously said Surface may release with a price tag between $300 and $800. Surface itself will launch alongside Windows 8 on October 26.

The Pro not a tablet. It's got laptop hardware i5/4GB/ram/SSD, please stop calling it a tablet and comparing it to an ipad or other android tablets.
Yeah its going to be an uphill fight given the iPad 2 at $399. But we will see. I'd rather have this than an Ipad 2. I do wish Nvidia would get its act together though and produce a follow up to the Tegra 3, which is getting a little stale.
I made the comment on another article that the difference between $300 and $800 is the difference between my investing in Windows 8 development and writing the whole thing off. If the bare minimum pricing on Windows 8 tablets is $400, I just don't think people aren't going to bite in large numbers. If they're buying comparably-priced laptops, they'll probably be sticking to the desktop primarily. In that case, why would I develop for Metro?
$800+ for the Pro version primarily because of greedy SOB Intel? Intel you can kiss my @ss. I really wish they could find a way to fit a low powered Trinity APU into one which would cut the price by at least $100.
Pricing seems crazy on high-end tablets.
The Pro not a tablet. It's got laptop hardware i5/4GB/ram/SSD, please stop calling it a tablet and comparing it to an ipad or other android tablets.
There will be x86 versions with atom and other, cheaper, chips available. As is the case on the desktop, there will unlikely be any price-point where AMD is a superior choice.
66.95+43.71+21+4.1+25.74 != 308.82
The only thing you added to Singh's original report was... an editing error. Maybe just provide a link to the original, much higher quality report next time?
Sell the devices at cost, entice people to buy them, and then rake in money hand over fist through the app store, making developers happy too.
Or, you know, price them too high, don't sell many devices, and preside over a market flop while alienating app developers. 'Sup to you.
I imagine that AMD tablets will provide a reasonably compelling value proposition somewhere between Atom and i3 devices, and likely will give some i3/i5 products a run for their money, as well.
The Pro kinda is a medium-end notebook with the keyboard removed IIRC.
Face it, at 399+ nobody is going to buy it in mass quantity and that will hurt the Windows Store revenue causing nobody to develop for it...