Microsoft Surface Price Related:

While our favorite company from Redmond has yet to release official Microsoft Surface Price details, CEO Steve Ballmer did recently suggest that Windows Tablets will compete with the iPad.  He also suggested that the “sweet spot” for the bulk of the PC market ranges from “$300 to about $700 or $800“.  Could we see a Microsoft Surface price of $300?  I doubt an MS Surface price would be that low but it’s not out of the question for an OEM to produce such a device.  Since the price of these devices will significantly impact how well they compete in an already crowded tablet market, let’s examine the Microsoft Surface price and how it compares.

[ Also See: Microsoft Surface Pre Order Available Now! ]

Microsoft Surface Price: What we Currently Know

Microsoft originally suggested that the Microsoft Surface price for Windows RT version of the product would compare to the price of existing ARM processor-based devices.  Many believe that the Surface RT would be priced around $600.  While this price is $100 more than the Apple iPad, it’s perhaps close enough to represent an alternative to the iPad for consumers looking to buy a tablet.  I feel however that there must be a Windows 8 Tablet offering at the $500 mark in order for the platform to succeed.  We still don’t know how good Windows RT apps will be or how many will be available.  To ask consumers to spend more and possibly get less for their money (at least in the beginning) is a lot to ask in my opinion.

Microsoft also said that the Windows 8 Pro version of the MS Surface would be comparable to existing Ultrabooks.  This notion is supported by the recently released pricing information for the Acer Iconia W700 Windows 8 Tablets.  Acer is releasing three devices, they each have specs similar to Ultrabooks, and they will cost from $799 to $999.  While I would prefer to see Windows Tablets running the full version of Windows 8 to be a little cheaper, I don’t think these devices have to compete with the likes of the iPad or high end Android Tablets.  Instead, I think consumers in the market for other PCs such as Ultrabooks and conventional laptops may consider Windows 8 Tablets.  Considering that a Windows 8 Tablet can do everything an iPad can do and much more, it’s reasonable to expect these devices to cost more.

Microsoft Surface vs the iPad, Kindle Fire, other Android tablets

Ballmer told the Seattle Times he expects the Microsoft Surface to compete with the Apple iPad.  He said that he thinks the MS Surface will be very competitive product from the features perspective.  I have to wonder though if he thinks all Windows Tablets will compete with the iPad or just the Windows RT versions.  Ballmer also seem to suggest that the MS Surface will not attempt to compete with the Kindle Fire and similar, less expensive Android Tablets.  From Baller:

If you say to somebody, would you use one of the 7-inch tablets, would somebody ever use a Kindle (Kindle Fire, $199) to do their homework? The answer is no; you never would. It’s just not a good enough product. It doesn’t mean you might not read a book on it….

Considering that  the Apple iPad out sells all other tablets 2 to 1, including all of the cheap Android Tablets, I think consumers agree with Ballmer.  The perception might be that if you spend a little bit more, you get a significantly better device that has more capabilities.  If this sentiment is while the iPad beats cheaper alternatives 2 to 1, perhaps this sentiment will allow Windows 8 Tablets such as the Microsoft Surface to challenge (and even beat?!?!?) the iPad.

Continue Reading…

Related posts:

1. Microsoft Surface vs iPad: Advantages and Disadvantages
2. Acer Iconia W700 Windows 8 Tablet Specs, Price, Pre-Order, and Shipping Details
3. Microsoft Surface Price Details

ipad, Microsoft Surface Price, MS Surface, Price

About the Author

Quentin Moore

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Quentin Moore is Senior Editor of Windows Tablet TV. He's a self proclaimed Tech Guru and spends most of his non-working hours playing with or blogging about tech gadgets. Check out Quentin's Google Plus Page.

More articles by Quentin Moore »

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Source : windowstablettv[dot]com

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MegaRamp skateboarding and BMX game sneaks into Play Store for Xperia devices

Sony Mobile hasn’t made a ton of noise regarding its arrival, but the company — in conjunction with developer has released MegaRamp for Android. The game leverages the MegaRamp license for the use of real ramps, locations, and pros to bring you an authentic boarding and BNX experience. Those who enjoy this sort of stuff might be interested, especially for just $2.89.

The problem is that the game is exclusive to Sony Xperia owners. It’s a shame considering it looks pretty decent, but many of you will have to hope that this period of exclusivity is only temporary.

That might not be a dream I’d hold on to, though, as the official trailer shows Sony’s influence throughout various areas of the game. Perhaps it can be reskinned later on, but for now there’s no sign that those of us without Xperia devices will have the chance to enjoy it.

But if you’ve got an Xperia device and you want to get in on some MegaRamp fun then there’s nothing stopping you. The game includes achievements and trophies, nearly 100 tricks between BMX and skateboarding, locations like Zurich, the USA, Mexico City, and tricksters like Danny Way, Kevin Robinson and Adam Taylor.

This likely won’t hold a candle to EA’s Skate or even older versions of Activision’s Tony Hawk Pro Skater, but for $3 we’re sure some of you will find something to like in this mobile package. If you have the hardware to match be sure to find it available for download in the Google Play Store. Oh, and be sure to watch the trailer above, horrible dubstep music and all.

[via Facebook]

Source : androidtabletblog[dot]com

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Patent Troll Company SurfCast Sues Microsoft for Windows 8/ WP Tiles

There are some companies out there known as patent trolls, that basically don’t manufacture products, but instead they sue others for breaching their well kept patents. One such company is SurfCast, a patent troll from Portland, Maine in USA. We’re dealing with a company that has a few patents, but no real products.

Also, on the home page of the site we find that it handles “operating system technology”, without actually referring the products. Meanwhile, in the news section their only achievement is the lawsuit filed by SurfCast this week against Microsoft in the US District Court of Maine. The troll claims it has developed the concept of Tiles in the 1990s, a long time before Microsoft came up with it. Microsoft’s Live Tiles are the core of the Windows Phone and Windows 8 experience and they simply can’t do without them, so they would to anything to save them.

The SurfCast website has been around since 1999, but the layout has remained unchanged since 2003, as the company stood dormant. What’s funny is that the only recent changes to the site were made so that their technology would sound more like Microsoft’s. The concept here is “a graphical user interface which organizes content from a variety of information sources into a grid of tiles, that can refresh its content independently on the others”. So I guess that Microsoft is probably laughing at this right now, especially since SurfCast has no chance of winning this…

Related posts:

1. Microsoft Courier Patent Brings Back the Dead
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Source : androidtabletblog[dot]com

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Microsoft places a heavy bet on Surface

This week’s big news is the pending release of Microsoft’s Surface tablet, which is a major push for the company on several fronts. At a high level, Surface marks Microsoft’s re-entry into the tablet market, one that it helped create in the early 2000s, only to see limited acceptance — and eventually, Apple dominated the market with its launch of the iPad.

Superficially, this seems like another entry into the “Look, Ma, I have a tablet, too!” category, but it’s noteworthy because it’s Microsoft’s first foray into a major piece of hardware, one of the first “flagship” tablet-style devices running Windows 8, and the first major piece of hardware running Windows RT, the tablet-focused version of Windows 8 that’s targeted toward the optimized ARM-based processor.

Initial reports indicate that Microsoft has bet heavily on this particular tablet, producing an initial run of five million units at a starting price of $499 (USD) apiece. In my mind, this move also marks some boldness and risk-taking from a company that seemed content to give up on innovator status in the last few years, cashing checks from its desktop OS and Office suite rather than attempting to change computing as we know it.

Own it

While Microsoft has taken some flak for producing its own hardware, it’s a necessary move. As an owner of several past tablet PCs, the experience and good ideas represented by the platform were marred by poor driver support, inadequate batteries, high price tags, and a lack of interesting hardware.

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Apple has long realized the benefit of tightly integrating hardware and software, and if Microsoft can successfully drive a hybrid strategy, whereby it releases flagship devices and maintains a cadre of hardware vendors filling in the gaps, some interesting things might happen. If nothing else, Microsoft has already set a high bar on the hardware front and will hopefully do for the Windows-based tablet what competition from the likes of the MacBook Air did for the ultralight PC laptop category.

Looking good

Microsoft has apparently also hired some industrial and graphics designers, a marked departure from the past when most of the visual tweaks to its products were geeky or more sizzle than steak. While the dramatic change to the Windows 8 interface has CIOs raising a skeptical eyebrow, it is certainly pushing computing in a different direction and represents far more bold thinking than pretty windows and animations.

Where it could all go wrong

There’s a lot to like about the moves Microsoft is making, but at this point, they are little more than pretty pictures, release candidate software, and marketing superlatives. There are no extensive, hands-on reviews of the Surface tablet at the time of this writing (although the device is slated to go on sale in just a few hours — on Friday, Oct. 26, 2012). So, the Windows 8 interface remains untried on a massive scale, and developers who are likely growing weary of the proliferation of tablet platforms now have another one to deal with.

These are all problems that have been routinely discussed, but a more nuanced one is the question of whether users can be bothered to jump aboard an entirely new platform that encompasses hardware and core OS functionality. I’ve talked to quite a few people, and many of them think that desktop- and laptop-type platforms represent the past. The majority of their computing interactions take place in browsers. Even in the corporate environment, Outlook and Office do the majority of the desktop-based work, and all the “action” happens in web or proprietary-client applications.

For these people, consumers and corporate customers, Windows 8 with its new interface represents an answer to an unasked question, with Windows 7 essentially “good enough.” Considering quite a few major companies still run the venerable Windows XP, Windows 8 may be a bridge too far.

One of the criticisms of the iPad, that it’s just a “big iPhone,” is also its biggest strength. The interface is no-frills and essentially gets out of the way so you can interact with your content and applications. Even with high-quality hardware, a new platform that’s completely different from anything, except perhaps Windows Phone, may be a tough sell to a public wary of the “platform du jour.”

While there are many unanswered questions around Surface and the raft of risks the platform presents, it’s exciting to see a resurgent Microsoft that’s breaking out of its rut, has learned a thing or two about design, and is willing to abandon decades-old computing conventions and partner relationships. Betting big has big risks, but quiet stagnation is equally risky and perhaps even more painful.

Read also

• ZDNet: Microsoft Surface RT: A review roundup
• ZDNet: Microsoft Surface: Why hardware really matters again
• CNET: Microsoft Surface review: Innovative tablet stranded in an app desert
• CNET: Microsoft Surface vs. Apple iPad (4th gen) vs. ASUS Transformer Infinity

Source : techrepublic[dot]com

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