Microsoft’s Surface Pro tablet will go on sale in the US and Canada starting February 9th. The company will charge $899 for a model with 64GB of storage, while a 128GB model will run $999.
Both tablets feature 10.6 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel displays, 4GB of RAM, Intel Core i5 processors, and Windows 8 Pro software.
In other words, while the tablets cost almost twice as much as the Microsoft Surface RT, they also pack significantly more powerful hardware and feature a full version of Windows which can run virtually any Windows app, unlike Windows RT which only runs apps downloaded from the Windows Store (unless you jailbreak it).
Another thing that sets the Surface Pro apart from the Surface RT is the pressure-sensitive digital pen for writing or drawing on the screen or hovering a mouse cursor while running desktop Windows apps.
Microsoft will charge $120 extra if you want a Touch Cover or $130 for a Type cover. Those are the screen covers Microsoft offers for its tablets, which also function as physical keyboards.
The company will also offer a new Surface RT configuration starting February 9th. You’ll be able to pick up a 64GB Surface RT for $599. Right now the only way to get that model is to pay $699 for a version bundled with a Touch Cover.
Can we dual boot LINUX and Windows 8 with this device? Just looking at the hardware, and itching to put a decent OS on it (vs that ate thing).
Going clover trail for a tablet is a bad idea this chipset and drivers are going to go by the wayside as soon as the next ATOM is out a year from now…in the meantime AMD will be out with it’s next generation low power platform very soon, it should hit the sweet spot for price/performance/cost. Just look Kabini/jaguar platform.
The same could be said about virtually every chipset made in the last 20 years to some extent, it’s a matter of whether you need the low power functionality right now. However, I agree the next generation Atom is very likely going to be enough of an improvement over it’s predecessor to justify the wait…..
No need to wait for the next ATOM as AMD soc with 4 cores and good graphics should be out well before back to school season…this new platform is key to AMD survival so it should see good support and be available in a range of form factors from tablet to hybrids&laptops. The prices should be a lot lower than haswell and be available well before the next ATOM.
How much power do they use compared to Clover Trail? Do they support Connected Standby in Windows 8?
Wow, I couldn’t justify buying one of those. I just couldn’t… Not at those prices. It doesn’t do enough for me that I can’t get out of a cheap laptop and a seperate tablet, both of which do their jobs better… The more I see of Windows 8’s chimera interface, the less I think this will work.
I hope someone reviews the battery life soon. I’ve heard “half as much as the Surface RT” and “5+ hours”. The former doesn’t sound very good, but the latter doesn’t sound too bad. I think that tablets like this can completely replace most laptops and tablets so I’m looking forward to seeing a review.
Half would be around 4-5 hours. 5+ probably means you’ll get more than 5 if you don’t do much. The Surface Pro is a great first gen Windows 8 tablet spec wise. Build wise I assume it’s pretty good like the Surface.
For now, I’m going for a 10″ Clover Trail tablet since I need long battery life for my planned use. Hoping for Haswell and beyond to merge my notebook/tablet use.