Microsoft Surface Pro to Be Released February 9 with $899 Price Tag

surfaceproMicrosoft today announced that its Surface Pro tablet will go on sale on February 9 in the United States and Canada. Originally slated to arrive in January, the Surface Pro tablet is priced at $899 for the 64GB model and $999 for the 128GB model.

The Surface Pro sports an Intel Core i5 processor with Intel HD Graphics 4000, 4GB of RAM, and a more robust battery. Unlike the RT version of the Surface, it is able to run the full version of Windows 8 as well as Windows 7 applications.

Both versions of the Surface Pro ship with a Surface pen, but the Touch or Type Covers, which retail for $100, are not included.

Anandtech took a preliminary look at the tablet, and created a chart comparing the Surface Pro to the Surface RT and Apple's iPad.

surfaceprocomparison
Beginning on February 9, the Surface Pro will be available for purchase on Microsoft’s website, at Microsoft retail outlets, and third party retailers like Staples and Best Buy.

Alongside the Pro, Microsoft is planning to release a 64GB standalone version of the Surface RT for $599, $100 less than the version that ships with the included Touch Cover, and a slew of new Surface accessories.

Top Rated Comments

inlinevolvo Avatar
146 months ago
Skip win 8, it's pretty much a usability nightmare.
Score: 69 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MRU Avatar
146 months ago
Anandtech chart is flawed....

Why the comparison with the iPad only ? Surely a fairer comparison would be between the surface pro and the MacBook Air 11" stock.


MBA
11-inch : 64GB
1.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor
Turbo Boost up to 2.6GHz
4GB memory
64GB flash storage1
Intel HD Graphics 4000
1376x768 Resolution

$999.00


SurfacePro
10.1"
Dual Core i5 processor
4GB memory
64GB flash storage
Intel HD Graphics 4000
1920x1080

Surface Pen accessories included.

$899

Touch Cover additionally $119

Total cost of Surface pro including Touch Cover = $1018
Score: 49 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rnizlek Avatar
146 months ago
I'd be interested in knowing the expected battery life. With a Core i5 and a smaller battery than an iPad, it can't be great.
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
IJ Reilly Avatar
146 months ago
If they keep throwing things against the wall one of them might even stick.
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BC2009 Avatar
146 months ago
The more appropriate price comparison here is to the MacBook Air (and Touch Cover or Type Cover keyboard needs to be included in that price comparison). From the early reviews I have read, Surface continues to be a compromised tablet and a compromised "ultrabook".

As a tablet it is heavy and much of the software is not optimized for touch.

As an ultrabook it cannot be comfortably used in your lap and the keyboard and trackpad are not as good as the MacBook Air.

I think the Windows 8 OEM's have better answers for the "convertible tablet/ultrabook" category than Microsoft does.

EDIT: According to Microsoft (http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/Press/2013/Jan13/01-22SurfaceFamilyPR.aspx), the Type Cover is NOT included in the $899 price. They refer to it as optional in a caption for a picture, and when listing what is included, they omit it. So the Surface Pro price (with keyboard) is $1028 versus the MacBook Air at $999. If you are in the market for a convertible Windows 8 machine, I would look to one of the Microsoft OEM's that at least gives you an actual full-blown UltraBook that can be used in your lap, but can also serve as a compromised tablet like the Surface Pro. There is no sense on compromising both the laptop and tablet experience in a convertible laptop.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ronwasserman Avatar
146 months ago
They are high.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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