Larger Surface Pro 2 Models Not Shipping Until December

News
By Kevin Parrish
published

Several Surface tablets won't ship until December.

In September, Microsoft showered the rumor mill with loads of truth about the upcoming second-generation Surface tablets, opening up pre-orders on September 24 for the Tegra 4-based Surface 2 (sans the RT) and the Haswell-based Surface Pro 2. The release date was originally scheduled to be on October 22, just days after Microsoft floods customers with the Windows 8.1 update, but now many Surface releases have seen a bit of a delay.

The Microsoft Store reveals that the $899 Surface Pro 2 64 GB model will ship to customers on October 21, one day early. However, the 32 GB and 64 GB Surface 2 models aren't scheduled to ship until October 25. The same goes for the 128 GB model of the Surface Pro 2, also experiencing a slight delay, which previously was marked as out of stock.

For customers looking to scoop up the more expensive 256 GB and 512 GB Surface Pro 2 models, these units won't ship until December 15. The original batch that went on sale when Microsoft opened up the pre-purchases last month have sold out, and will reportedly ship on October 21.

Currently, the Type Cover 2, selling for $129.99, is only sold in Purple. The Charcoal version is listed as "out of stock" while the Cyan and Magenta covers are listed as "coming soon." The Charcoal Touch Cover 2 can be pre-ordered for $119.99 now, and then ship on October 29. Additional accessories compatible with these tablets can be found here.

As a quick reference, here is what Microsoft is listing in regards to price and ship dates:

  • Surface Pro 2 64 GB          $899    October 21
  • Surface Pro 2 128 GB        $999    October 25
  • Surface Pro 2 256 GB     $1,299    December 15
  • Surface Pro 2 512 GB     $1,799    December 15
  • Surface 2 32 GB              $449    October 25
  • Surface 2 64 GB              $549    October 25

UPDATE: The two Surface Pro 2 prices have been fixed, as well as the info about the larger tablets. Thanks for the feedback! -KP

Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.

Kevin Parrish
26 Comments Comment from the forums
  • stevejnb
    Lame... Out of my price range, and I've already got a Windows 8 pro tablet I'll be happy with for a year or two, but those big models with the 8gb of RAM are the type of thing I'll be looking at in the future.

    Also, you've got two of the Surface Pro 2 models listed for $89 and $99 respectively... I may well end up having to buy one if those are the prices.
    Reply
  • michael908
    A quick glance at the price chart I though "Whoa, finally Microsoft became aggressive with pricing" then i realized it was a typo.
    Reply
  • Pinhedd
    $99? Come on Toms
    Reply
  • outlw6669
    Wow, $99 for a 128GB Surface 2 Pro?
    Sold!
    Reply
  • therogerwilco
    This is the same misunderstanding CNET had. The original wave of preorders will ship with their original date of the 21st. They sold out. So now the next available date is the 15th of Dec. Please adjust your article Tom's; I would hate to think you're in the same league as CNET providing incorrect data.
    Reply
  • slzmn
    This article is inaccurate. If you pre-ordered a 256/512GB SP2 and received a ship date of 10/21, your SP2 will ship on time. I confirmed this with MS yesterday. MS is sold out of the initial supply of the 256/512GB SP2s, so if you order today (after 10/14), your ship date is "before Dec 15".
    Reply
  • typicalGeek
    I'll be the first to admit that I didn't check the specifications of the Pro tablets, so perhaps you're getting something more than just more storage with the more expensive models. However, at least on first glance, it seems MS doesn't even think people can do SIMPLE math.

    If the models are as follows:
    64G - $899
    128G - $999 *$100 per 64G of extra storage vs. base
    256G - $1299 *$133.33 per 64G of extra storage vs. base
    512G - $1799 *$128.57 per 64G of extra storage vs. base

    In this case MS is charging up to 29-33% MORE for those who want more storage.
    Frankly, if they were not playing these games they'd probably sell a ton more of the 256/512 models. (At a much more fair $1199 and $1599 -- even better if they gave you a break and charged LESS per GB for the higher capacity models... just like SSD makers do. Thanks to them we all know that flash memory is MUCH cheaper than $1/GB now. Why try to charge up to $2.08 per GB when it's embedded in your device?)
    Reply
  • stevejnb
    Geek, I know that the latter two models have an extra 4gb of RAM each (8gb vs 4gb on the smaller models). Might be other changes too, not sure... But, it is a reality of current SSD's that the price increases at a faster rate than their size.. You can get four 128gb SSD's for quite a bit less than a 500'ish gb SSD.

    Any which way, all of these storage options are overpriced, but that's par for the course. Some companies offer size upgrades for $50'ish, but most stick to $100 per size increment and rake in the cash off of users in doing so.
    Reply
  • m32
    Surface Pro 2 64 GB $89 October 21
    Surface Pro 2 128 GB $99 October 25

    Something ain't right....
    Reply
  • joe nate
    "In this case MS is charging up to 29-33% MORE for those who want more storage.
    Frankly, if they were not playing these games they'd probably sell a ton more of the 256/512 models. (At a much more fair $1199 and $1599 -- even better if they gave you a break and charged LESS per GB for the higher capacity models... just like SSD makers do. Thanks to them we all know that flash memory is MUCH cheaper than $1/GB now. Why try to charge up to $2.08 per GB when it's embedded in your device?)"

    It seems their reasoning is "Because Apple gets away with it too." Look at the ipad prices for extra storage space. $100 more per extra doubling of the memory of the previous model.
    Reply