The release date for Microsoft Surface and Windows 8 has remained a mystery ever since Steve Ballmer took to the stage to announce the tablet. However today Microsoft revealed in an SEC filing that both software and hardware will be ‘generally available’ on October 26 (Surface Pro will come 90 days later), with pricing details still unknown, CNET reports.
“The next version of our operating system, Windows 8, will be generally available on October 26, 2012. At that time, we will begin selling the Surface, a series of Microsoft-designed and manufactured hardware devices,” Microsoft said in its annual report filed this week with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Surface launching on the same day as the operating system is also a clear aggressive message to competitors about 3rd party hardware, but with the price still unknown it could be in vain.
If Microsoft charges too much they’ll run the risk of losing out to cheaper third party tablets with its software but also fall further behind to the iPad, currently clearly winning the race. The pressure’s on, and Microsoft will want to prove that its first ever quarterly loss was a one off.
Meanwhile September could be the month for an Apple product announcement, with a new iPhone and possible iPad mini on the cards, which would be well timed just before the release of Microsoft’s tablet.
