June 20, 2012 at 20:48Digitimes: the cheapest Surface tablet will cost $ 599
At the disposal of DigiTimes, known for its insider information, was information on the cost of recently announced Microsoft Surface tablets.
It became known that the Taiwanese Pegatron Corporation , a subsidiary of AsusTek, is engaged in the production and assembly of tablets (it is interesting that it is also called as a Google Nexus tablet vendor, the presentation of which is expected on Google I / O). At the same time, the approximate cost of Surface with an ARM processor and Windows RT operating system will be about $ 599, while the version of the IvyBridge-based tablet with full Windows 8 is $ 799. (For comparison, you can notice that the second-generation ultrabook ASUS Zenbook UX32VD on the Intel Core i5-3317U processor will also cost the buyer a similar amount.)
Also today, TheVerge tech bloggers spoke with Steve Ballmer about the long-term prospects of Microsoft in producing products uncharacteristic for the company. In particular, journalists mentioned that a number of major vendors disapproved of the fact that they did not know anything about Microsoft's plans and now, in fact, are forced to overestimate their plans in light of the release of the new tablet. And the real goal of the Redmond company allegedly is to show the possibility of releasing Windows 8-based tablets, and then, when the remaining major electronics manufacturers pick up the trend, Microsoft will quietly return to the well-developed harbor of software, skimming the cream from sales of its operating system.
Acer founder Stan Shi:
Steve Ballmer denied this statement, noting that all partners of the corporation were warned about the plans, but “no one can forbid them to think what they want on this subject” and, in fact, admitted that one of the objectives of the Surface release is to stimulate the market for the release of tablets based on the new Windows 8 and, thereby, popularize Microsoft products in the mobile market.
[ DigiTimes , TheVerge ]
It became known that the Taiwanese Pegatron Corporation , a subsidiary of AsusTek, is engaged in the production and assembly of tablets (it is interesting that it is also called as a Google Nexus tablet vendor, the presentation of which is expected on Google I / O). At the same time, the approximate cost of Surface with an ARM processor and Windows RT operating system will be about $ 599, while the version of the IvyBridge-based tablet with full Windows 8 is $ 799. (For comparison, you can notice that the second-generation ultrabook ASUS Zenbook UX32VD on the Intel Core i5-3317U processor will also cost the buyer a similar amount.)
Also today, TheVerge tech bloggers spoke with Steve Ballmer about the long-term prospects of Microsoft in producing products uncharacteristic for the company. In particular, journalists mentioned that a number of major vendors disapproved of the fact that they did not know anything about Microsoft's plans and now, in fact, are forced to overestimate their plans in light of the release of the new tablet. And the real goal of the Redmond company allegedly is to show the possibility of releasing Windows 8-based tablets, and then, when the remaining major electronics manufacturers pick up the trend, Microsoft will quietly return to the well-developed harbor of software, skimming the cream from sales of its operating system.
Acer founder Stan Shi:
You need to understand that Microsoft itself is not going to sell its tablets in the long run. Once the stated goal is realized, Microsoft will no longer offer new Surface models.
Steve Ballmer denied this statement, noting that all partners of the corporation were warned about the plans, but “no one can forbid them to think what they want on this subject” and, in fact, admitted that one of the objectives of the Surface release is to stimulate the market for the release of tablets based on the new Windows 8 and, thereby, popularize Microsoft products in the mobile market.
[ DigiTimes , TheVerge ]