Microsoft Cuts the Price of the Surface Pro Again

News
By Jane McEntegart
published

Microsoft cuts the price of the Surface Pro by a further $100 following release of newer model.

Microsoft's second generation of Surface tablet just went on sale earlier this week. The only problem is that the first model isn't even a year old, and Microsoft still has some of those first generation Surface Pros to sell. As such, the company has cut the price of the Surface Pro again.

 

Microsoft dropped the price of the Surface Pro by $100 in August. The discount was originally advertised as a temporary offer but Microsoft soon made the price drop permanent. Now, the company is shaving another $100 off the price of the Surface Pro.

A new deal on the Microsoft Store (online) offers $100 off the Surface Pro, bringing the regular entry-level price of $799 down to $699. This second price drop isn't permanent, as Microsoft says it's only good until the end of the year, but we can't imagine many people will still be buying the first generation Surface come January. It's also worth noting that this deal only applies to those living in the United States and Canada.

The original Surface Pro packs Windows 8 Pro, a dual-core 1.7 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU, up to 256 GB of storage (entry-level model comes with 64 GB), 4 GB of dual-channel DDR3-1600 RAM, Intel HD Graphics 4000, a 10.6-inch 1920 x 1080p display, two 1.2-megapixel cameras (720p with AF on the rear), WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, USB 3.0, and Mini DisplayPort.

Follow Jane McEntegart @JaneMcEntegart. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.

Jane McEntegart
26 Comments Comment from the forums
  • stevejnb
    Heh, it was $150 off the previously cut price at Future Shop/Best Buy (Canada) as of Monday. Got one for my girlfriend for Christmas as of Tuesday... Monday they had lots, by Tuesday morning only two Best Buy's in my city (Calgary) had any left. I reserved one at 10 AM and they said they had six left. By the time I got there at twelve, the one I had reserved was the last one - possibly in the whole city.

    At that price, these things sell like they're going out of style... Which, I guess, they are. I wouldn't expect to find them at this reduced price for long. Frankly, while I like the Surface Pro 2's updates, I don't find any to be game changing ones, so costing several hundred dollars less makes the original Surface Pro well worth it.
    Reply
  • So basically this just lowers the overall value of these devices and I pity anyone who paid full price for one. A fire sale is just around the corner and many of us know it already. Microsoft Is NOT smart enough to recognize this is a failure and move on. Make a affordable tablet, make a traditional OS for the PC and stop doing what is not successful on any measurement. Just imagine if Microsoft would put a full Windows 8 OS on a $500 tablet that could run software and apps? No, instead it makes some sort of hybrid that neither works as a tablet or notebook well enough and is over priced.
    Reply
  • stevejnb
    Jesscott, just the other weekend I got my mom a last year's model of the Lenovo Yoga at a $200 discount - a fire-sale clearing out old stock. This isn't exactly just MS that does this - several companies are.

    The Surface Pro was a good product when they released it in... January, was it? Heck, a great product - an ultrabook hardware, tablet form factor. Of the people I know who have them, their assessment is almost entirely positive. Go on to Amazon and read the Surface Pro reviews - very, very positive. With how much people love to crap on MS for things that other companies get a free pass on, if people are largely saying positive things about a product MS puts out, it *has* to be pretty damned good.

    Even here at Tom's, the general word I see going around is "That's a slick unit - I'd get one for a second if the price wasn't so high" or the praise of a happy user. Say what you will about MS as a whole, but they got something right with the Surface Pro.
    Reply
  • sjwpwrpro2
    I just got one at the $699 price here in California, it was the last one they had. They had a bunch last week so everyone was just waiting. The only thing that I like about the newer one is the battery life I get about 5 hours out of this one with light usage. Other than that I wish that I had got me one I purchased this one for the wife and I think that I like more than she does. We had a android tablet first and this thing is not even in the same ballpark in terms of performance and usability. We both love it and when I have the money I might get me one of the new ones.
    Reply
  • robochump
    Why would anyone pay full price for the Surface Pro 2? Just wait for discounts.
    Reply
  • stevejnb
    11787559 said:
    Why would anyone pay full price for the Surface Pro 2? Just wait for discounts.

    Because they want one now and don't want to wait 10 months? For a lot of people, the price difference is a fraction of a day's wages and, frankly, it ain't worth the wait to get a product you want.
    Reply
  • ddpruitt
    Laptop $400, Android Tablet $200. More power more life and more use for less.

    I seriously don't see why anyone would pay $500 plus for something that has less power than an entry level laptop and worse battery life than a table. It's suppose to be the best of both worlds but it seems to be coming off as the worst of both worlds.
    Reply
  • teh_chem
    Other than backlit keyboards and an extended battery cover, there's so little functional difference between the Pro and Pro2, if I were in the market to buy a Pro2, I'd just get the Pro at the nice discounted price.

    I really wish proper keyboard docks would come out for any of the Surface tablets, ala the ASUS Transformer sort--though I hate ASUS' TF keyboards, they're all far too compact with poor design. I don't know why MS didn't release docks with the next revision of the Surface. The kickstand is more of an afterthought than a good product design IMHO.
    Reply
  • JD88
    Biggest problem with the first Gen Surface pro is Battery life. It's also a little on the thick side. It's an awkward laptop and a chunky tablet. What does it do well?
    Reply
  • sean1357
    I don't mind about the price. I thought MS should do something about the weight. It's still damn heavy same with the first generation. Did MS learning anything?... I don't want to hold heavy tablet in my bed while reading something... I give credit to Apple because they did reduce the weight by 30% than original iPad.... I have my brother works at MS Surface group (manager role), but I still like iPad Air...
    Reply