More "news" on Surface pricing

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by Top100EbooksRank

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology...?newsfeed=true
Yes, Microsoft can price the Surface for $199 and make a profit. Here's how

$199 + required subscription to an expensive "service" with a lengthy minimum term is no where close to a $199 price.

Originally Posted by Top100EbooksRank

genius!!!

Capitalizing on gullibility is not demonstration of genius.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

A bit harsh.
LINUX is actually a great OS by programmers *for* programmers.

and engineers and scientists and anyone with a kindle, pocketbook, onyx (and other) e-readers.

Originally Posted by fjtorres

The only thing "wrong" with it is that some people keep trying to make it something else. And it doesn't "take". LINUX is what LINUX is. People should celebrate it for what it is instead of bemoaning what it isn't.

[fjtorres]

Here's somebody *in the know* who is actually willing to speak on the record:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-0...han-win-8.html

Lenovo Group Ltd. (992), the world’s second-biggest maker of personal computers, said new devices based on Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)’s Windows RT software will cost $200 to $300 less than competing products using Windows 8 software.

And:

Windows 8 has more compatibility with other Windows software, making it more attractive to corporations, while Windows RT will “be a very good consumer box,” Schmoock said. Windows 8 tablets will cost $600 to $700, he said.

In other words:
Windows 8 Tablets will run $600-700, Windows RT tablets will run $400-500.

Perfectly good--but not insane--pricing.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by david_e

Perhaps I'm too tired to understand, but is the article suggesting that the tablet would only work with some sort of subscription plan? I know absolutely nothing about gaming and wouldn't know an xbox from an accordion.

The tablet doesn't need the subscription plan to work. It only needs the plan if you want to pay $199 for the tablet; otherwise, expect to pay a lot more.

It's like cell phone contracts. How do you get a $700 phone for $199? By signing a two-year contract for voice and data. The phone company more than gets it money back on the subsidized phones by gouging consumers on the outrageously priced mandatory data plans.

These deals are only good if you were going to get the required service anyway.

[Belfaborac]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

A bit harsh.
LINUX is actually a great OS by programmers *for* programmers.

The only thing "wrong" with it is that some people keep trying to make it something else. And it doesn't "take". LINUX is what LINUX is. People should celebrate it for what it is instead of bemoaning what it isn't.

Aren't the "people" trying to make it something else pretty much the people behind every large Linux distro? It seems to me that just about every distro I know of has had as its goal to make itself more usable to the average Joe over the last several years. In other words it doesn't seem, in any way, as though Linux is thought of as an OS by and for programmers by its developers.

I agree that de facto it still is just that, as well as being a kudos vehicle for the cool kids who enjoy raging against anything large and established, but it certainly isn't what it wants to be.

[robertc88]

I don't have a portable Microsoft solution as of yet, just an older desktop workhorse.

A MS laptop or an upcoming tablet? Time will tell.

[fjtorres]

CNET on Win8 Tablet Pricing:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57...eyes-the-ipad/

And what about that rumored $199 Microsoft Surface tablet that theoretically would compete with Google's $199 Nexus 7?

For guidance, I have been told repeatedly by Microsoft that "suggested retail pricing...is expected to be competitive with a comparable ARM tablet or Intel Ultrabook-class PC." (The same statement Microsoft made in June when it launched Surface.)

And I was told yesterday by someone familiar with Microsoft's Surface strategy that "comparable" does not apply to a 7-inch tablet, like the Nexus 7. Comparable products are 10-inch class tablets with the latest versions of Android from a first-tier player like Samsung.

So, that means theoretically that Surface RT and other RT products could compete with a low-end 10-inch class Wi-Fi-only Android product from Samsung, for example.

Whatever the case, all of the low-end 10-inch class Android tablets from top-tier vendors, like the $399 Samsung Galaxy Tab 2, are competing with the $399 iPad 2.

But $199? I'll leave that to readers to speculate (e.g., $199 with a monthly Microsoft subscription), but I don't see any new 10-inch $199 tablets from Samsung, Motorola, or Asus

They also quote IDC on expected shipment numbers for 2012 and the likelihood of $199 pricing:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57...lets-says-idc/

Production plans are for a few million units for calendar 2012, said IDC analyst Bob O'Donnell in a phone interview. "Probably a little over 3 million, both [Intel] x86 and ARM," he said. Surface RT is built around ARM processors and will not support older "legacy" software that runs on Windows 7. Intel-based Surface will run Windows 8 Pro that does run legacy software.

"If they build a few million units there's no way they can sell it through Microsoft store only," he said, referring to Microsoft's current plan. "So I think that they'll sell it through traditional retail also. You can't build that many products without having a much wider distribution strategy. They just haven't shared that [strategy] yet," he said.

[Barty]

Originally Posted by carld

$199 for a 10.6 inch tablet? My VISA is trembling.

Well, when a large company is willing to take a bath, I'm happy to spring for the bubbles!!

[Barty]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

$199 + required subscription to an expensive "service" with a lengthy minimum term is no where close to a $199 price.



Capitalizing on gullibility is not demonstration of genius.

Hey it works for smart phone and cable tv industries.

Yeah if it's too good to be true....