Microsoft Surface RT for... $199?

It is very well possible in my opinion. Microsoft is known for doing things like this, and it would not be the end of the world if they lost some money on the hardware, maybe almost nothing since it runs their software. They almost lost a majority of gaming income to Sony if they had not came up with Xbox 360 which stole back at least half of the market back to Microsoft.

Getting market share for Windows8 and WinRT before mobile operating systems like Android and IOS take away the whole pie is well worth it.

Think about it this way. 5 years ago if my grandmother wanted to check her email, she had to use Windows, 10 years before let alone IOS, even Machintosh was not common among home users. Today a family of 4 can easily have the father have an android tablet, wife facebook on an Ipad and kids play games and music on an ipod and survive without buying software or hardware from Microsoft. In the old days, social media, email, gaming, productivity were all Microsoft. Mac's were competing at the business level. Now it looks very bad for microsoft since not everyone is willing to learn an operating system in order to do simple tasks that they need internet for. People even stop buying laptops. My roommate was in dire need of a laptop but she got an Ipad 3 as a gift and now she trashed her old laptop and realized she really does not need a laptop or a desktop computer. Her fiance is the same way.

If Microsoft misses this train, they are going to be the Xerox of 2012 so I fully expect a ridiculously low priced, market killing Windows RT tablet and it is older brothers runnig new Atom Cpu's and Full win8 like the Lenovo Thinkpad tablet 2.
 
I'm planning to buy a Surface Pro when gets released, but if the RT does sell for a mere $199, then I'll pick one up until the Pro is available. Then my 3 year old can have the RT when I get the Pro...
 
AQ_OC said:
It's never going to happen, so quit daydreaming. Already, MS has shown off a special new mouse and BT keyboard. The mouse cost $70. Who is going to pay that for a mouse if the laptop cost $200? Talk about joke of the week.
Click to expand...

If the hipsters think it is cool, it will sell...PERIOD. If business finds value in the proposition, it will sell...PERIOD. The hipsters are looking for the next thing because Apple is now "too popular". They need the next thing to show how cool they are and how much more money they have than average person. For business, they want the next level mobile productivity. The WindRT tablet puts a professional in a stronger position to get their work done.
 
I think the Surface RT better be $199, or at least close. I doubt it will be a viable option if it's over $300. I'm extremely interested in checking these out, but they have to be in that $200 to $300 price range or I can see a lot of people giving it a pass. If I remember correctly, the full blown x86 Surface tablets will be at least a couple of hundred more, so IMO they have to be in the $400 - $600 price range to compete. No matter how cool they are, if I could get a comparably equipped Ultrabook for a similar price, I would probably do that. These things have to be cheaper then a comparable laptop AND the iPad or why bother?
 
Trepidati0n said:
If the hipsters think it is cool, it will sell...PERIOD. If business finds value in the proposition, it will sell...PERIOD. The hipsters are looking for the next thing because Apple is now "too popular". They need the next thing to show how cool they are and how much more money they have than average person. For business, they want the next level mobile productivity. The WindRT tablet puts a professional in a stronger position to get their work done.
Click to expand...

I thought the hipsters were all Mac users. :)
 
wtburnette said:
I think the Surface RT better be $199, or at least close. I doubt it will be a viable option if it's over $300. I'm extremely interested in checking these out, but they have to be in that $200 to $300 price range or I can see a lot of people giving it a pass. If I remember correctly, the full blown x86 Surface tablets will be at least a couple of hundred more, so IMO they have to be in the $400 - $600 price range to compete. No matter how cool they are, if I could get a comparably equipped Ultrabook for a similar price, I would probably do that. These things have to be cheaper then a comparable laptop AND the iPad or why bother?
Click to expand...

The rumors I've read about the Surface Pro's pricing is to be around $999. More expensive than the iPad 3 (to suggest it's "better than the iPad 3") yet less expensive than the high end ultrabooks (~$1500). In a way, it makes sense, because if M$ is going to take a hit on the RT's pricing, then it could make up some of the difference with the Pro's higher price. Also, as I've said, if it's cheaper than the iPad 3, it'll be thought of as a "cheap iPad", which is not what Microsoft needs. They need this to be regarded as a high quality piece that consumers want to own...

I really hope it's less than that. I want one.....
 
Last edited:
E^vol said:
I really hope it's less than that. I want one.....
Click to expand...

If it's priced right, say $300 or less, I don't think Microsoft will have a problem moving millions of RT devices but I do think that they only want to move a few million. They aren't at this point trying to compete with their competitors, simply motivate them and to draw some attention to Windows 8/RT which it looks like this move clearly has done.

Heck @ $1k the Pro device looks to be very competitive. I think that Windows 8/RT devices aren't going to effect the iPad a lot, but I have a feeling that they will pretty much put an end to anything but the cheapest Android tablets and they might hit Apple's Air devices.
 
Regardless of the price, I have to admit that I'm quite excited about Surface (both of them) and it's been a very long time since I've been excited about anything Microsoft related !!! There seems to be a lot of hype for these tablets (generally speaking) and I hope that they live up to the hype so we can get some real competition going...After all, competition just benefits us, the consumers.
 
http://www.microsoft.com/surface/en/us/default.aspx

Untitled.jpg


Above photo is the spec sheet.
Link to larger photo
 
Last edited:
Thanks, It looks like they really are targeting the budget segment with the Surface RT. Not sure about $199, but $299 might be on the cards. I think my mother would like one for xmas..

I really want to see some firm pricing!
 
Surface has pen input? Oh shoot things are getting much harder to decide for me when oct 26th comes around. Also USB 3.0, micro SDxc and mini display port.... yeah that ridiculous, but not unexpected from Microsoft. Every time these guys release something new, this happens.
 
Andyk5 said:
Surface has pen input? Oh shoot things are getting much harder to decide for me when oct 26th comes around. Also USB 3.0, micro SDxc and mini display port.... yeah that ridiculous, but not unexpected from Microsoft. Every time these guys release something new, this happens.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately the Surface RT doesn't have an active pen digitizer, in fact I've not seen one Windows RT device announced that does which is kind of a bummer, I'm not sure why one of the most unique and powerful features of Windows as it relates to tablets isn't currently on any RT hardware. My guess it is to help keep costs down plus the handwriting recognition is pretty CPU intensive and the performance may not be there. However I'm thinking that we'll see active digitizer RT devices sometime in 2013.
 
heatlesssun said:
Unfortunately the Surface RT doesn't have an active pen digitizer, in fact I've not seen one Windows RT device announced that does which is kind of a bummer, I'm not sure why one of the most unique and powerful features of Windows as it relates to tablets isn't currently on any RT hardware. My guess it is to help keep costs down plus the handwriting recognition is pretty CPU intensive and the performance may not be there. However I'm thinking that we'll see active digitizer RT devices sometime in 2013.
Click to expand...

I had an Asus convertible netbook with pen input that worked with a resistive screen and used an older Atom cpu to compute. That thing was slow man, i had to return it back to Amazin because the lines that were being drawn by the pen would be about 500 ms delayed. Although 500 ms does not seem like a big deal, when u are used to getting instant response from analog pen and paper, its impossible to get used to delays like that. I never tried the handwriting recognition but i am sure it would have been awefull. I also dont know where these RT devices stand as far as computing but this could be the reason behind them not having an active digitizer.
 
Globox said:
looks like a nice machine to install linux on
Click to expand...

Why not buy one with it preinsta--oh, wait, you can't because it is not a good os other than servers. Lol. Wanting to put Linux on this would be like taking the engine out of your Ferrari.

These new atoms slaughter the old ones, as far as I can find on performance.
 
Well, as I've said, I'm going to get the Surface Pro in Feb when it's released, and if (by some miracle) the Surface RT does get released at $199, then I'll be getting one of those also to tide me over until Feb.'s launch.
 
GoldenTiger said:
Why not buy one with it preinsta--oh, wait, you can't because it is not a good os other than servers. Lol. Wanting to put Linux on this would be like taking the engine out of your Ferrari.
Click to expand...

High performance computers overwhelmingly are using Linux over Windows. Same with embedded devices. If performance matters, you don't use Windows.
 
BladeVenom said:
High performance computers overwhelmingly are using Linux over Windows. Same with embedded devices. If performance matters, you don't use Windows.
Click to expand...

And if functionality matters on a desktop or laptop you don't use Linux.
 
Linux on the desktop is only marginally fit for layman's use. Linux on a touch screen? Ho-boy, I can only imagine the little slice of hell that would be, even for the most ardent Linux enthusiast.
 
Man I am a technology enthusiast who knows how to program in a couple languages, tutors physics and mathematics for a living and working on trying to get/finish a graduate degree in Electrical Engineering where I work on digitally programming embedded hardware systems and digital signal processing. So I am not your average" let me check my facebook on my ipad" kinda guy, and I cannot tolerate Linux. Yes it does have performance gains in some applications but if there is any user interaction, I'd rather go with Windows, ( yes not even IOS). I would rather take the performance hit which is really truly nothing to be worried about %99 of the time.
 
BladeVenom said:
High performance computers overwhelmingly are using Linux over Windows. Same with embedded devices. If performance matters, you don't use Windows.
Click to expand...

You know the guy wasn't trying to have a discussion but just annoy ;). That said, productivity loss versus windows for me as a programmer and 3d artist makes Linux a losing proposition every time. I couldn't imagine how bad it would be trying on a touchscreen with Linux to get anything done.
 
TheInfernal said:
Android is Linux...
Click to expand...
That's like saying "Java is Linux". Android runs in Linux. Or rather, it runs in Dalvik, which runs in Linux. If Google decided to port Dalvik to BSD, QNX, or WinRT (to bring this back around to the thread topic...), Linux could be excised from the software stack with only mild disruption.
 
XenIneX said:
That's like saying "Java is Linux". Android runs in Linux. Or rather, it runs in Dalvik, which runs in Linux. If Google decided to port Dalvik to BSD, QNX, or WinRT (to bring this back around to the thread topic...), Linux could be excised from the software stack with only mild disruption.
Click to expand...

Actually there is an Android emulator, Bluestacks that runs on Windows and OS X. I've played with it a bit, it may not technically be an emulator, it may be just a runtime, I don't know anything about the technology architecture.
 
XenIneX said:
That's like saying "Java is Linux". Android runs in Linux. Or rather, it runs in Dalvik, which runs in Linux. If Google decided to port Dalvik to BSD, QNX, or WinRT (to bring this back around to the thread topic...), Linux could be excised from the software stack with only mild disruption.
Click to expand...

Xamarin has done it with Mono already as well... As a proof of concept. The underlying os has little to do with the software. Linux is not a requirement.
 
brucedeluxe169 said:
I just have to ask.. how is this wrong or irrelevant?
Click to expand...

Android is an operating system that runs inside of Dalvik, that runs on top of Linux. Saying Linux is Android, is like saying Hardforum is Windows because you load it in Internet Explorer which is a web browser that runs on top of Windows.

As far as the irrelevancy, how does Android, a different operating system, therefore have anything to do with using Linux itself on a touchscreen? As someone else mentioned, trying to use Linux with a touchscreen, as terrible as it is already for a desktop.... oh boy, would that indeed be a special little slice of hell.
 
GoldenTiger said:
As someone else mentioned, trying to use Linux with a touchscreen, as terrible as it is already for a desktop.... oh boy, would that indeed be a special little slice of hell.
Click to expand...

Linux has the same problem Windows currently has when it comes to tablets, both are desktop OSes and are geared for keyboard and mouse operation and this is one of primary reasons for Metro, to spur the development of touch and tablet software.
 
GoldenTiger said:
Android is an operating system that runs inside of Dalvik, that runs on top of Linux. Saying Linux is Android, is like saying Hardforum is Windows because you load it in Internet Explorer which is a web browser that runs on top of Windows.

As far as the irrelevancy, how does Android, a different operating system, therefore have anything to do with using Linux itself on a touchscreen? As someone else mentioned, trying to use Linux with a touchscreen, as terrible as it is already for a desktop.... oh boy, would that indeed be a special little slice of hell.
Click to expand...

Am I being trolled? Android uses Linux the same way any other distribution based on Linux uses it.... hell, most of the GNU programs run on Android with a simple recompile for ARM (or in the case of x86 Android, with no modification at all...). X11 even runs on Android just fine....

You really have to be the only person on the planet that would say that "Android isn't Linux".... until Google makes Android run on a different kernel... your reasoning is completely wrong.

And, hint hint.... Dalvik is NOT Android... seriously.... trying to conflate the two is just wrong wrong wrong.....
 
brucedeluxe169 said:
Am I being trolled? Android uses Linux the same way any other distribution based on Linux uses it.... hell, most of the GNU programs run on Android with a simple recompile for ARM (or in the case of x86 Android, with no modification at all...). X11 even runs on Android just fine....

You really have to be the only person on the planet that would say that "Android isn't Linux".... until Google makes Android run on a different kernel... your reasoning is completely wrong.

And, hint hint.... Dalvik is NOT Android... seriously.... trying to conflate the two is just wrong wrong wrong.....
Click to expand...
Just as Windows Phone 8 isn't windows 8, despite sharing some tech it is its own thing. Also, as I mentioned it is wholly irrelevant. The guy was trying to troll the thread.
 
GoldenTiger said:
Just as Windows Phone 8 isn't windows 8, despite sharing some tech it is its own thing. Also, as I mentioned it is wholly irrelevant. The guy was trying to troll the thread.
Click to expand...

where your reasoning fails is your understanding of the difference between the Linux kernel and the Windows operating system....

Android, totally open source, and running the Linux kernel, is really no less "Linux" than Debian, Fedora, or WebOS...... of course, instead of running X11 and a desktop oriented user interface it uses whatever the hell Android's window manager is called.... Dalvik underpins most Android programs, but native programming using C++ and the unix and other standard open source linux APIs are viable programming options (and frequently used to make most games for instance.... )

The Windows kernel isn't provided by Microsoft as a component to be used with software provided by others... it comes as an integrated whole inside Microsoft products like Windows, Server, etc......

But really, by almost any stretch of the imagination, Android is a Linux system, running a terminal and the GNU tools, its a GNU system as well.....

So yea, it is both Linux, and relevant to the discussion.... Android is an example of Linux running on touchscreens providing a good, functional user experience....
 
GoldenTiger said:
My "false information" was actually factual. Nice try. :rolleyes: However, you called when you should have bluffed.
Click to expand...

If by factual, you mean utterly wrong, then sure, use whatever word you want to use. Just know, that you are probably the only person on the planet that thinks that Android isn't a Linux operating system....

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/android-and-linux-re-merge-into-one-operating-system/10625

http://developer.android.com/about/index.html

Of course, maybe you are indeed correct? Quick, call Google ASAP and let them know that they are all wrong about Android being a Linux OS!
 
brucedeluxe169 said:
If by factual, you mean utterly wrong, then sure, use whatever word you want to use. Just know, that you are probably the only person on the planet that thinks that Android isn't a Linux operating system....

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/android-and-linux-re-merge-into-one-operating-system/10625

http://developer.android.com/about/index.html

Of course, maybe you are indeed correct? Quick, call Google ASAP and let them know that they are all wrong about Android being a Linux OS!
Click to expand...
Yeah, clearly the guy meant android. Right. :rolleyes:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top