Surface RT Discounted $150 at Staples This Weekend

By Jane McEntegart
published

Nothing gives you that Friday feeling quite like a sale.

If you've been considering a Microsoft Surface but have been off by the price, this news might be enough to tip you over the edge. The company is cutting the price of the Surface RT come Sunday. The news was first reported by the Verge, which cited unnamed sources that said Microsoft was planning to lop as much as $150 off the price of the Surface RT. It's since been confirmed by Staples promo flyers that say the device will indeed by discounted by $150.

The Staples flyer dates the deal for Sunday, July 14 and says it will run through to July 20, which is the following Saturday, so you have a whole week to take advantage. Though the flyer lists only the Surface RT 32 GB as part of the deal, the Verge reports that the Surface RT 64 GB will also be discounted, as well as packages comprised of each model plus a Surface Touch Cover. The 32 GB Surface RT will apparently drop to $349.99, while the Surface RT is rumored to be going on sale for $449.99. The 32 GB model with Touch Cover will cost $449.99, while the 64 GB model with Touch Cover will cost $549.99.

The Surface RT was release in October of last year, at the same time as Windows 8, and is based onan Nvidia Tegra 3 chipset. It packs 2 GB of RAM, up to 64 GB of storage, a 10.6-inch 1366 x 768 display, two cameras (both front facing and rear-facing and both are 1.2 MP), WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, USB, and HD video out.

Jane McEntegart
19 Comments Comment from the forums
  • halcyon
    They can't even give that junk away. No Thanks. My Note 8 is just fine, thank you.
    Reply
  • internetlad
    Not a bad price at all. The pro is far and away the better tablet, but for somebody who doesn't need the full OS functions, and/or doesn't demand the highest performance, this is a fine choice.
    Reply
  • 1991ATServerTower
    Still don't care. Still not sorry about it.

    Talk to me when you have a product that I can make my own, as I can with a PC running DOS through to Windows 7 or any version of Linux/FreeBSD. I'm not interested in buying product that is locked into a "walled garden", limited ecosystem that may well be killed off at any moment. You know, like Windows Vista/7 desktop gadgets, the Blackberry Playbook, WebOS, and all those other "closed systems" that make the OWNER OF A PRODUCT at the mercy and whim of the product creator.

    If it's not open like the PC, fuck off.
    Reply
  • nhat11
    11143762 said:
    Still don't care. Still not sorry about it.

    Talk to me when you have a product that I can make my own, as I can with a PC running DOS through to Windows 7 or any version of Linux/FreeBSD. I'm not interested in buying product that is locked into a "walled garden", limited ecosystem that may well be killed off at any moment. You know, like Windows Vista/7 desktop gadgets, the Blackberry Playbook, WebOS, and all those other "closed systems" that make the OWNER OF A PRODUCT at the mercy and whim of the product creator.

    If it's not open like the PC, fuck off.

    Whoa you need a chill pill and calm down. No one likes a hot headed kid.
    Reply
  • BringMeAnother
    Still not worth it for me, but could be a good choice for non power users who just need to surf.
    Reply
  • Miharu
    I still waiting for a tablet 7-inch under 399$ and running Windows 8 (not the RT).
    Reply
  • avgguy
    1991ATServerTower
    Fine to have a negative opinion about the product but leave out the colorful language. It points to a diminished capacity and takes away from legitimate discussion. Unless of course you are actually an angry idiot - in which case there's not fixing stupid.
    Reply
  • avgguy
    (typo with 'not' instead of 'no' in previous post - can barely keep ahead of my own stupidity
    Reply
  • stevejnb
    Edit: Misread the article, but leaving my post up to show my shame and jumping the gun. Even at the mid $300 price point, this is a bad buy in my eyes - Android simply offers far better options for tablets in this range, and some proper full Windows 8 tablets are coming in around this price. Even with a $150 discount, this limited product is still way overpriced.

    Wow, this thread/deal is pretty clear evidence that some people are really letting their hatred for all things MS/Windows 8 get to the point of pure unreason.

    Windows RT is a disappointment - not that I ever really had high hopes for it. Windows 8 pro tablets are pretty damned good for what they do, and RT is the lame legged bastard stepson that MS is ashamed to talk about. That being said though, why is RT so lame? Because it basically does what a normal Android or iOS does - run apps, media consumption, web browsing, basic stuff. It is, essentially, a toy and can't run as a full computer. The thing is, those "toy" tablets can be quite fun to play with sometimes and actually can even be handy in a working situation (student, light business, etc). RT tablets are more than enough for a lot of peoples' tablet needs.

    With that in mind, this deal? $150 for a basic Surface tablet is not bloody bad. The Windows 8 ecosystem is getting respectable. When you're looking at the $150 price range for "toy" tablets you can either get less than half of an iPad mini or an Android tablet from a no-name Chinese manufacturer that likely isn't Google certified, no USB port, no hdmi out, bare bones. Even the smaller hardware deficient Kindle Fire goes on sale for more than this.

    If you can't see this as a good deal, you've let your hatred for MS/Windows 8 go beyond the point of reason. The Surface RT is not a bad tablet, it was just horribly overpriced for the initially app deficient device that it was. At this price, it's a steal, and a pretty damned handy thing to get for $150. I doubt I'm getting one, but... I may get one for my girlfriend for her birthday.
    Reply
  • aicom
    11144247 said:
    I still waiting for a tablet 7-inch under 399$ and running Windows 8 (not the RT).

    You mean like the Acer Iconia W3? Granted, it's 8-inch but it's also $399 and running dual-core Atom.

    http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/productID.282303500?WT.mc_id=PromoEmail_AcerIconia_7-9-13_ShopnowCTA
    Reply