Microsoft said on Tuesday its new Surface tablet computer — designed to challenge Apple’s iPad — will be sold at roughly the same price as the market leader.
Microsoft began taking pre-orders for the Surface, which will start at US$499 for US customers for a tablet with 32 gigabytes of memory. A 64GB version bundled with a black touch cover is priced at US$699.
The prices are in line with the iPad, which begins at US$499, but with less memory. Apple is expected to unveil a low-priced “iPad Mini” next week.
Surface will be available on Oct. 26 at Microsoft Store locations in the US and Canada and will be sold online in eight markets: Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Britain and the US.
Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer has described the iPad challenger — complete with a built-in stand and ultra thin covers which double as keyboards in a range of colors — as a tablet that “works and plays.”
The tablet will run on the Windows 8 operating system, which is also being released on Oct. 26.
Analysts said Microsoft was walking a fine line in not pricing the Surface too low, which could upset its partners, or too high, to discourage buyers.
At that price level, Citi analyst Walter Pritchard said, “we are not sure there is sufficient motivation to lure consumers away from the iPad.”
“We believe by pricing Surface in line with iPad, Microsoft may be indicating that it feels good about the product and that the addition of Office more than justifies the price parity,” the analyst added.
Morgan Stanley’s Adam Holt called Surface “a compelling value” because it includes the Office software suite, which includes the widely used word-processor Word, which may be key for business users.
As Microsoft announced prices of its tablet, Apple sent out invitations on Tuesday for an event in exactly one week’s time where the company is widely expected to unveil a new “iPad Mini,” a smaller version of its market-leading tablet computer.
“We’ve got a little more to show you,” said the invitations for Tuesday’s event in San Jose, California.
Some blogs that closely monitor Apple say the new tablet could be priced from US$249 to US$399, which could pressure rivals such as the Amazon Kindle Fire.
Various reports have cited the specifications of the new tablet and some pictures have also leaked.
The new tablet is also expected to have a screen of 7.85 inches, compared with 9.7 inches for the current iPad.
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
ADVERSARIES: The new list includes 11 entities in China and one in Taiwan, which is a local branch of Chinese cloud computing firm Inspur Group The US added dozens of entities to a trade blacklist on Tuesday, the US Department of Commerce said, in part to disrupt Beijing’s artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced computing capabilities. The action affects 80 entities from countries including China, the United Arab Emirates and Iran, with the commerce department citing their “activities contrary to US national security and foreign policy.” Those added to the “entity list” are restricted from obtaining US items and technologies without government authorization. “We will not allow adversaries to exploit American technology to bolster their own militaries and threaten American lives,” US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said. The entities
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
Minister of Finance Chuang Tsui-yun (莊翠雲) yesterday told lawmakers that she “would not speculate,” but a “response plan” has been prepared in case Taiwan is targeted by US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, which are to be announced on Wednesday next week. The Trump administration, including US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, has said that much of the proposed reciprocal tariffs would focus on the 15 countries that have the highest trade surpluses with the US. Bessent has referred to those countries as the “dirty 15,” but has not named them. Last year, Taiwan’s US$73.9 billion trade surplus with the US