Microsoft has officially announced that the high-end Windows 8-powered version of its Surface tablet will be available starting on January 9th in the U.S. and Canada. Microsoft initially announced a January launch, but missed their launch target.
The base model of the Surface Pro starts at a whopping $900, and includes 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage (expandable up to 128GB using MicroSD), and an Intel Core i5 processor. The high-end model will be available for $999, and includes 128GB of storage with the same specs as the 64GB version.
It’s also worth noting that the Surface Pro’s $900 starting price doesn’t include a keyboard – the magnetic Touch Cover ($120) and Type Cover ($130) have to be purchased separately. A fully-functional Surface with PC-like input and a keyboard will cost over $100. At those prices, you could purchase a MacBook Air or an Ultrabook, which would have more power, more storage, more power, could be configured with more RAM, and which are all-around more capable of computing tasks.
It will be interesting to see how well the Surface Pro performs in its first round of sales – but it’s hard to imagine these flying off of the shelves… For more information, head on over to the Microsoft Store.
