Microsoft has finally revealed the launch date of its much awaited Surface tablet. It will be available from October 26,2012 - the same day on which its next instalment of OS Windows 8 will be commercially available.
"The next version of our operating system, Windows 8, will be generally available on October 26, 2012. At that time, we will begin selling the Surface, a series of Microsoft-designed and manufactured hardware devices," Microsoft mentioned in its annual report.
Which variant among the two?
The surface tablet comes in two variants - ARM based tablet running a lighter OS named Windows RT and the other one a bit pricey running Windows 8 Pro on Intel "Ivy Bridge" processors.
VentureBeat says that the ARM based tablet is likely to be released first on October 26th and that the Intel based tablet will be released 90 days from the general availability of ARM based version.
All eyes on Surface
With this, Microsoft wants to make its mark in the tablet segment (Do note that it already sells the XBox). The introductory video about the Surface looks promising and hence led to the comparison among Apple iPad and the Surface.
If the Surface gets positive reviews, Microsoft can have a chance to beat the Apple dominance in the tablet segment.
What can be the Price ?
Microsoft has not yet revealed the price but gave a hint of the range saying "... price is expected to be competitive with a comparable ARM tablet or Intel Ultrabook-class PC..."
So, the ARM based tablet might be around $500 and the high end Intel based Surface might be priced somewhere around $1000.
No doubt... October 26th,2012 is going to be a very important day for Microsoft !!
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