Here's the UK Pricing for Microsoft's New Surface Tablets
Microsoft this morning announced two brand new iterations of the Surface laptop. The company is kicking off pre-orders today, and the tablets are launching at the end of next month. So what will they set you back when they finally do go on sale?
If you're looking at the Surface Pro 2, the 64 GB Pro 2 will cost you £719. Stepping up to the 128 GB model will bring the price up to £799. The 256 GB variation will cost £1,039 while the top of the range 512 GB model will cost £1,439.
The Surface 2 will run Windows RT 8.1, and boasts a 10.6-inch ClearType Full HD display and comes with support for microSD, USB 3.0, and HD video out. The tablet comes in two varaitions, 32 GB or 64 GB, and ships with Office 2013 RT and 200 GB of SkyDrive storage (for two years). The brand new Surface Pro 2 packs a full version of Windows 8.1 Pro, a 10.6-inch ClearType Full HD display, support for microSD, USB 3.0, and mini DisplayPort. Both 64 GB and 128 GB capacities are available with 4 GB of RAM while the 256 and 512 GB capacities will each have 8 GB of RAM. Pre-orders start September 24 and availability in 21 markets is expected on October 22.
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Err, attach the keyboard and it is an ultrabook, but when was the last time you could remove the keyboard from an ultrabook and use it as a tablet? You get more for the same price or less
You both mention something which a lot of people should be aware of and gloss over what people should be aware of...
First off, what people should be aware of, is that this "tablet" can completely replace your laptop/ultrabook. The hardware is the equivalent of a mid to lower end of the upper range Ultrabook, and as someone who has a product equivalent to the first Surface Pro (Acer Iconia W700), I can vouch that these types of tablets can replace your whole bloody desktop if you're a mid level user. By mid level, I mean no high-end games (it does run a lot of PC games quite well, but nothing hugely graphics intensive), no DVD/Blu Ray drive, etc, you probably don't want to use it for constantly compiling code if you're a programmer... But if you're someone who uses their desktop/laptop for playing some games, watching movies/Netflix, browsing, e-mailing, Office, installing odd programs, torrenting, the Surface Pro (original or second) will do all of it perfectly well. This thing is a complete ultrabook - hook a keyboard and mouse up to it, plug it into a TV/monitor, you have your desktop, and then you can unplug it and take it on the road as a tablet or laptop just fine.
Second though, they are charging a premium for this. Not a HUGE premium, but a premium. If you do not need the option of switching to a tablet format, you can get an Ultrabook with similar hardware for less. Not a TON less, but less. Personally, I *love* the tablet format... Use it to read the news, comics, .pdf file books for my work, and then switch to a "laptop" when I need it. But simply put, they are charging more for this than you would pay for equivalent Ultrabook hardware. If you're OK using a slower hard drive VS a solid state drive and whatnot, you can get a regular laptop for far cheaper. This device is not for everyone, but for a good group of people, you might well find a Surface Pro - or equivalent competing device - to be the most handy device you've ever owned. The Iconia W700 - Surface Pro equivalent from Acer - is about as neat as any device I've ever owned, and it has made productivity on the go *way* easier and obsoleted my desktop at home.
As for the UK pricing... As with most things, when you work out the pounds to US dollar conversion, the UK people are paying more than their American counterparts. No getting around this as it does it for most everything, so, no surprise there.