A leak today revealed the pricing for Microsoft’s upcoming line of Surface tablets:
$599 for the Windows RT version.
$999 for the Windows 8 Professional version.
I think it’s now safe to say that the Surface will (probably) fail, and badly. Windows PCs have one huge advantage over Macs, and that advantage is price. A new MacBook Pro will set you back $1200, while you can get a PC laptop that will do pretty much everything the MacBook will do for $400.
However, the low-end version of the Surface will retail for $599, $100 more expensive that the low-end version of the iPad 3, and $200 more than the iPad 2. Who in their right mind would pay $599 for a tablet running the dumbed-down Windows RT when $499 will get you an iPad with its ecosystem, and another $30 will get you a decent Bluetooth keyboard off Amazon?
Apple can get away with its high prices because people perceive it as a “premium” brand. No one considers “Microsoft” a premium brand, and it is rank madness for Microsoft to try and act like one.
-JM