What do you think about the price?

[ZombieBacchus]

Just wondering how people feel about the $449 price on the Surface 2.

I was hoping they would hit $399. I think the Surface 2 is worth $449 with all the upgrades over the Surface RT but I think at $399 more people would be willing to try it. It is tough to convince people to change ecosystems and price may have helped with that.

 

[stmav]

Of course I wish it was lower, doesn't everyone? But I don't think it's a bad price at all. I just want to know if the docking station and new accessories will work on the original RT. That way I can get the new one, give my old one to my wife, but bribe her with the docking station and new type cover.

 

[ShaunKL]

With all the stuff it has I can't see them being able to drop the price another $50. I was actually pleasantly surprised with the new price tag. I don't see anything about how the price stacks for larger memory models and type covers but hopefully each upgrade goes for an additional $50 instead of $100.

This all being said, Microsoft now has this little key thing. A Surface(RT) can essentially do anything an iPad can do, and it is cheaper. You can say that now. A dude at Best Buy can say, "It's got this and this and this and this, and it is cheaper than the iPad."

 

[bb_gonzo]

I agree. It's probably worth $449, but i think it's too expensive to make an impact. I would have have hoped for a $349 prize for the Surface 2 and subsequently $249 for the Surface mini. Both with included touch covers. Do we know if any covers are included? 449 without any cover would be stretching it. I like that it's thinner and lighter and the better display, but that's something you expect from an update. So for MS to really have wowed people they would have needed to lower the prize. As we said over and over again. It's not wise to compete with the iPad at it's own prize.

 

[ShaunKL]

As we said over and over again. It's not wise to compete with the iPad at it's own price.

But they did lower the price. Mathematically it may not be much cheaper but with word-of-mouth you can say that it is in fact cheaper.
A thing to note is that these are premium products, made of magnesium in a very tightly knit and well designed package with a premium processor and display. I think it's a blessing that the pricing starts slightly below the iPad to be honest.

 

[Crakeur]

it will probably come down once they use up the RT inventory.

 

[Laura Knotek]

I think it would be worth $449 if it included the type cover. $600 is too expensive.

 

[Robinsonmac]

Unfortunately the public doesn't & won't care its trying to be a premium product or that ots made of magnesium. Price is the #1 factor until the Surface brand has the same premium reputation as Apple products in which people will accept higher prices.

 

[ShaunKL]

Unfortunately the public doesn't & won't care its trying to be a premium product or that ots made of magnesium. Price is the #1 factor until the Surface brand has the same premium reputation as Apple products in which people will accept higher prices.

Well this is what I'm trying to get across. If done correctly they can make the hordes believe that Surface is in fact cheaper than an iPad. Because it technically is.

Anyone I've talked to publicly (not internet) has a positive attitude towards the Surface brand, so I don't think public perception about quality will be a problem.

 

[stmav]

I think it would be worth $449 if it included the type cover. $600 is too expensive.

The Surface and type cover for $449 is a bit too much to ask for. A little unrealistic to expect it for that price.

 

[Robinsonmac]

ShaunKL, my point is you can't come out & start selling it beside a premium priced product with a spotty at best track record. Even if it"is" cheaper its still not cheap enough. Especially with a vastly inferior app store. Hyundai's are vastly improved cars and still can't sell them for the same price as the segment leaders. MS has to sell at a significantly lower price & slowly come up as market share adoption increases.

 

[Microsoftjunkie]

I also believe that the pricing is good. Its miles ahead of any other "comparable" (which none is truly comparable) tablet, simply because it has more options and functionality. MS will definitely sale way more. If they can open up the API to the covers for 3rd parties, we can truly see some imaginative ways of using this. Great job MS!

 

[Reflexx]

Pricing is a tricky thing.

If they price it too low they risk the product being viewed as inferior in quality.

I think they know that they won't sell too many RTs. But they think having it associated with being a premium device is worth it in the long term.

 

[HeyCori]

Considering the RT is still going to sell for $349, I'm actually okay with the price of the Surface 2. For $100 more you're getting much better hardware, better cameras, 200GB SkyDrive+Skype and it's still cheaper than an iPad. Some early benchmarks I've seen placed the Tegra 4 over the Snapdragon 800 though I hope we get some newer benchmarks. But for now the Tegra 4 is probably the most powerful chip on the market save the A7. Plus I'm really digging the Silver cover. I think I'm more excited for the Surface 2 than I am the Xbox One.

 

[ShaunKL]

I see your point about the iPad. Even still if marketed correctly it could take on Android tablets and win over their premium models. (And Nokia's as well. Starting at $499 with a polycarbonate back? pshh)

 

[Robinsonmac]

I would agree except for one major drawback. The app store is no ware equal to the competition. So to compensate the price needs to be cheap enough for it not to matter & at $450 its not. My sons 1st Gen iPad will be replaced this Christmas. I want to get him a Surface but can't because the apps he has just aren't there. It's really that simple.

 

[ShaunKL]

I don't know how old your son is but the Windows Store has plenty of games. Including some you can play with a controller. IE and the built-in apps should cover all other basic needs I'd imagine. Unless there's a specific use-case you can't do with Windows RT?

 

[Robinsonmac]

Come on now, really? On WP8 that is pretty much true but not on the Ipad side, not even close. He is 7 & has a bunch of educational games as well as general games that he has played for a couple of years & many are not available. It's really that simple.

 

[Adretheon]

I think it would be worth $449 if it included the type cover. $600 is too expensive.

I can't tell you how many times I hear people say "that's so cool that it comes with a cover for that price" only to have to correct them, and see the look of "Oh, never mind that's not a good price anymore."

I think paying an extra $100+ for a keyboard(which you can buy a usb keyboard on newegg for like 50$) for a device that's already $450, is a bit much. I understand that it doubles as a cover, but still. Does the Pro come with a keyboard? If not that that extends my point, I don't want to pay $1000+ for a device they are trying to sell as a Ipad comparison.

 

[ShaunKL]

Come on now, really? On WP8 that is pretty much true but not on the Ipad side, not even close. He is 7 & has a bunch of educational games as well as general games that he has played for a couple of years & many are not available. It's really that simple.

No worries. Like I said, I didn't know how old your son was nor what you needed specifically from the iOS ecosystem.
Has tier pricing been announced yet? (32, 32 w. TC, 64, 64 w. TC)