Prices for Windows tablets will be great

Analysts claim that the cost of Microsoft Surface will be at the level of budget PCs and ultrabooks. And this is without taking into account the spectacular keyboard cover. 

The cheapest of Microsoft’s tablets will cost about the same as an entry-level laptop, some analysts say. In other words, you will have to pay a little more than $199 for it. 

As for the most expensive RT-model, the price for it will range from $399 to $499 without a keyboard, says Sameer Singh, an analyst at the Indian consulting company Finvista Advisors.

For the Pro versions of the device on Intel processors, which will appear on the shelves only next year, they will ask from $ 799 to $ 899, also excluding the keyboard. 

In principle, Singh’s calculations quite agree with the statement of Steve Ballmer, who said a month ago that the price of the tablet will be somewhere in the range of $ 300 to $ 800. 

However, it is quite possible to deal with the pricing of Windows 8 tablets today without a Ballmer. All thanks to Microsoft partners who have revealed prices for their own tablets on the new platform. 

So Lenovo announced yesterday that its IdeaPad Yoga 11, running on Windows RT, will cost $799 with a keyboard. In turn, for the Iconia W510 tablet from Acer with a keyboard dock, they will ask for $ 750. If you don’t need a dock, you will be sold a gadget for $499. However, unlike IdeaPad Yoga 11, it is equipped with an Intel chip and a full-fledged Windows 8.

Anyway, the success of the new tablets on the Microsoft platform is less and less believed. Now, when everyone on the market is playing on lowering the cost of devices, including Apple, which is going to announce the iPad mini the other day, $500 for a debutant seems too bold a price.

We will find out the official prices for the Surface at the presentation of the Redmond company on October 26.