Microsoft’s tablet, the Surface is expected to launch sometime before the end of this year. The price of this tablet has not been disclosed yet, but according to a recent report by Engadget it might be around US$199. This is a strategic pricing considering that it will give the Surface a huge advantage over the more expensive rival, the iPad and it will also be in a good position to compete with the Nexus 7 and the Kindle Fire. When prototypes of the Surface tablet were first showcased by Microsoft sometime earlier this year, not much detail were revealed about it but most anticipated that it will be around the same price as most of its rivals in the tablet market. The most dominant products in the market like the iPad start at $499, and the Android-based Samsung Galaxy starts at above $500 when new.
The Surface tablet will have a 10.56-inch screen, a large number of entertainment apps and features, a touch cover that can be switched to a keyboard, and the new Microsoft operating system; the Windows 8 which has another variant for AMD chips, the Windows RT. Besides all these specs, this tablet is mostly known for being Microsoft’s first attempt at designing both the PC hardware and software for a device. Even though the company had a long record of making Xbox hardware, it had never attempted to design PC hardware. While companies like Apple reduce the prices for their hardware depending content offerings to recover their financial loses, Microsoft does not have that privilege. This means that chances for the Surface tablet to be cheap are low, and also the company will need to promote its upcoming OS, so its price should not affect the sales of other Windows 8 tablets.