Surface RT pricing revealed

[sporosarcina]

Oh good god people

I cannot believe the replies here...
The Surface RT is priced as a premium RT tablet, the top of the line for the class. As such it is right in line with the premium Android tablets and less than the iPads. If you want a cheap RT, wait for the OEM to produce their cheap knockoffs. That is the beauty of Windows (and Android), no one company is producing everything so there is differentiation. The Surface is MS way of say "this is the goal you guys should aspire to, you want to cut corners and make it cheaper, feel free but here is the peak." The build quality alone is orders above the plastic crap you will get from Acer, Samsung and Asus (though they have the best shot of a decent one). I gladly bought the 64GB version on preorder (black on black is fine with me).

As to "I could get a full OS on Acer for the same price," grow up. There is no way an Atom is going to be doing that much graphically speaking (look at the GPU specs for the Atom compared the Tegra 3) so you are not going to be running X86 games in there. Yeah Hondo is coming, but it will suck 4 times the power of the Atom and maybe hit 6 hours battery life, you might as well get a iCore at that point. The programming paradigm is shifting, people like Apps (hence the success of iPad), they like not having to worry about installs and such. MS is smart in moving this direction to keep the PC relevant. The idea that everything you really need won't be in the marketplace within a decent amount of time is foolish. The WP marketplace is pushing 100,000 apps in under two years and has good coverage, do you think the company that controls over 90% of the desktops is going to let this experiment fail.

Take the recently released Adobe Photoshop Touch App for iOS. Look at the UI of that App, it is in METRO! Adobe already probably is testing their apps for WinRT right now.

I'll go out on a limb and predict that within a year and half we will see an OEM produce a cheap ($250) 7-9 in WinRT tablet to satisfy the "budget" market.

 

[sentimentGX4]

(look at the GPU specs for the Atom compared the Tegra 3)

Please, enlighten us.

 

[crystal_planet]

Please, enlighten us.

Well, I have an Atom powered netbook with two gb of ram and even though I haven't received my Surface yet, I'll guarantee you it will run circles around my atom powered device.

(Yeah I know, "Apples to Oranges")

 

[camptime]

This screen resolution war reminds me of the pixel war the camera manufactures have been going through for years. It?s all a joke, instead of looking to enhance the technology and supply new innovative and efficient ways to improve the product they give us more pixels and say this is the new innovation we came up with.

Just wonder how those that want even higher resolution devices must feel about the sub stander picture on their 50 inch 1920X1080 televisions. (4K anyone)

 

[kregstrong]

This screen resolution war reminds me of the pixel war the camera manufactures have been going through for years. It?s all a joke, instead of looking to enhance the technology and supply new innovative and efficient ways to improve the product they give us more pixels and say this is the new innovation we came up with.

Just wonder how those that want even higher resolution devices must feel about the sub stander picture on their 50 inch 1920X1080 televisions. (4K anyone)

That's a great point about the 1080p 50 inch TV's lol. U eased my mind about the surface, thanks bro


Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

[VagrantWade]

Anyone who thinks they need 1080p or higher on a display this small, has absolutely no idea what they are talking about. Even worse, now people think they need 1080p on a 5 inch smartphone.

 

[wpguy]

Anyone who thinks they need 1080p or higher on a display this small, has absolutely no idea what they are talking about. Even worse, now people think they need 1080p on a 5 inch smartphone.

I agree, 1080p is a bit wasted on a phone. But when I remote in to a workstation or a server from a 10" screen, the more pixels the better. The less scrolling I have to do, the faster I can disconnect and get on with the rest of my day.

 

[Grimlock]

Actually, the assumptions regarding the iPad are classic examples of people assuming it must have higher specs since it is an Apple product. The iPad does not have a more powerful processor. It also does not have a MicroSDXC slot or USB port (it has none at all), touchtype cover, or even comparable internal wifi antennas. Yes, it has a super high resolution screen but I have yet to find anyone who can demonstrate a current use for it other than look at images that often have their own limitations that mean you are still seeing them at their lower native resolution. Yes, an iPad is a nice device but it is not the high end as far as technology other than that screen....

I didn't assume it was more powerful just because it was an Apple product. I vaguely recalled the A5X being more powerful than the Tegra 3- which wasn't that crazy since it had better gpu performance.

The reason I mentioned components was that I was trying to figure out why the surface rt costs so much. The $200 nexus 7 has a Tegra 3 and some have said the processesor in the $300 kindle fire HD is even more powerful. I mentioned screens mainly because those are typically the single most expensive component and by today's standards the Surface RT screen is not the latest and greatest. The usb port, memory card slot, and wifi antennas are not going to increase the cost that much; my only guess is that the high build quality and materials is what drove up the cost. I'm all for the super-sturdy design but if they could have included the touch cover for $500 I think they would have been a solid deal. When we justify the high price without having all of the latest tech and features then we end up sounding like the apple crowd.

I fully agree that the high resolution of the iPad 3 is mostly wasted on the device. While it enhances the reading experience it makes no sense to double resolution and still have the same amount of icons on the home screen. That's one of many reasons why I don't like iOS and am going with W8/WP8.

 

[VagrantWade]

I agree, 1080p is a bit wasted on a phone. But when I remote in to a workstation or a server from a 10" screen, the more pixels the better. The less scrolling I have to do, the faster I can disconnect and get on with the rest of my day.

My work computer reverts to my resolution when I remote in. Makes it much easier.

 

[CJ Thunder]

1080p on 10 inch is noticeable.

I have decided to wait for Surface 2 as I want an RT 1080p tablet. I will be watching, reading and typing on this device, not gaming...so this will be perfect. I hope Surface 2 will come out and have that screen, at least, and gps and NFC. Then I will be set.

Though still waiting on full specs of pro...

 

[kregstrong]

I think I'm gonna snag my surface rt and when pro comes out sell mind on craigslist and get the pro. Can't wait 3 more months

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

[cckgz4]

I cannot believe the replies here...

The Surface RT is priced as a premium RT tablet, the top of the line for the class. As such it is right in line with the premium Android tablets and less than the iPads. If you want a cheap RT, wait for the OEM to produce their cheap knockoffs. That is the beauty of Windows (and Android), no one company is producing everything so there is differentiation. The Surface is MS way of say "this is the goal you guys should aspire to, you want to cut corners and make it cheaper, feel free but here is the peak." The build quality alone is orders above the plastic crap you will get from Acer, Samsung and Asus (though they have the best shot of a decent one). I gladly bought the 64GB version on preorder (black on black is fine with me).



As to "I could get a full OS on Acer for the same price," grow up. There is no way an Atom is going to be doing that much graphically speaking (look at the GPU specs for the Atom compared the Tegra 3) so you are not going to be running X86 games in there. Yeah Hondo is coming, but it will suck 4 times the power of the Atom and maybe hit 6 hours battery life, you might as well get a iCore at that point. The programming paradigm is shifting, people like Apps (hence the success of iPad), they like not having to worry about installs and such. MS is smart in moving this direction to keep the PC relevant. The idea that everything you really need won't be in the marketplace within a decent amount of time is foolish. The WP marketplace is pushing 100,000 apps in under two years and has good coverage, do you think the company that controls over 90% of the desktops is going to let this experiment fail.



Take the recently released Adobe Photoshop Touch App for iOS. Look at the UI of that App, it is in METRO! Adobe already probably is testing their apps for WinRT right now.



I'll go out on a limb and predict that within a year and half we will see an OEM produce a cheap ($250) 7-9 in WinRT tablet to satisfy the "budget" market.

this just makes too much sense. Why was it approved??!!

Sent from my Lumia 900 using Board Express

 

[cckgz4]

Windows RT is officially dead. The Surface is cheaper than other RT products; but it's still much too expensive with the likes of iPad, Nexus 7, and Windows 8 Pro counterparts. Not touching this tablet with a 10 foot poll. WP8 will suffer from the weakness of RT as well. Thanks a lot, Microsoft.

you mean dead as in pre orders have sold out??

Sent from my Lumia 900 using Board Express

 

[AlexBC]

Surface is PRICED RIGHT, but NOT aggressive... only time will tell if an aggressive pricing was needed to get more traction or not.

Anyone suggesting a $200 price for such a premium device is just being unrealistic. It is $100 cheaper than iPad 32GB, which is just right as they are on-par, and Surface might even be better speced in many areas.

I think the MAGIC number would have been $499 WITH keyboard, and $399 or maybe even $420 without keyboard. So to position it at the same price as basic iPad with cover! So, they can say you get 16GB more, and a keyboard for the same price of an iPad with cover!

Also, I don't get it WHY colored keyboards are more expensive than Black? It's simply stupid. The colors ones WILL do a better job marketing the Surface, so not sure why they're charging more for it?!