When Microsoft launched the Surface RT tablet in late 2012, it was an odd duck. Microsoft was asking $499 for a tablet with an NVIDIA Tegra 3 ARM-based processor and operating system that looked like Windows 8… but which couldn’t run classic Windows apps.
If all you plan to do is run Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer, and third-party apps designed for the new Windows 8 user interface, it’s not a bad little device… but since there aren’t as many high quality third-party apps for Windows RT as there are for Android or iOS, it’s hard to justify the iPad-like pricing.
These days you can pick up a new model for $299… or a refurbished model for $169. That certainly makes the Surface RT a bit more attractive.
Here are some of the day’s best deals.
- Refurb Microsoft Surface RT (1st gen) tablet for $169 – Manufacturer Certified (via eBay)
- Refurb Hisense Sero 7 Pro tablet w/Tegra 3, 8GB for $100 – Rakuten
- Refurb BlackBerry PlayBook w/16GB + dock for $80 – A4C
- Refurb Asus MeMP Pad ME172V tablet w/16GB for $80 – Woot
- HP 23″ 1080p monitor with speakers for $100 after rebate – TigerDirect
- Kingston 120GB”SATA III 2.5″ SSD for $70 – Newegg
- Get $10 rebate on orders over $50 – TigerDirect
You can find more bargains in our daily deals section.
Useless is useless at any price.
Oh wait you can run office or internet exploder.
Normally I’d agree, but for $170, it’s almost the same price as the Office 2013 Home & Student Edition. So you could connect it to a monitor via its HDMI port, Bluetooth a keyboard, and use it just for Office if that’s what you need.
I see the point you are making, but in a world filled with existing tech it is still very hard to see the true value here.
Or just use free AndrOpen Office (open office for Android) on a cheapper and more powerfull Android tablet, with lot more application beside and probably a little less security holes (lot less in AndrOpen Office than in MS Office) 🙂