Microsoft Surface for Windows RT tablet, which was unveiled during I/O conference in June and is slated to be launched on Oct. 26, is coming at a compelling price of $199, reveals a recent report.
According to a DigiTimes report, on Aug.9, Acer chairman JT Wang publicly revealed that Microsoft "has already acknowledged the concerns of the brand vendors and is trying to minimize the negative impact created by the launch." The announcement took place at Microsoft's TechReady15 conference, claims the report.
While pricing of the Surface tablet is still shrouded in mystery, the $199 pricing suggested by recent reports is a little bewildering. Windows RT version is certainly a high-end tablet and selling it for just $199 seems to be a bizarre move and would have massive repercussions on the existing tablet market.
Earlier, PC maker Acer issued a public warning stating that the Microsoft Surface tablet could seriously impact the existing PC ecosystem and asked the software giant to abandon the Surface range. The Acer chairman, however, mentioned in the present report that Microsoft will not be dropping the Surface line-up.
Previously, a TechRadar report had indicated that Microsoft's Career webpage featured a slew of job postings, which stated that the Redmond-based company is hiring people for its "Surface Team" and is already "building the next generation" of tablets. The advert also stated that the new employees will be put in a long-term product team responsible for planning and executing several generations of products.
Additionally, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, during the company's annual Worldwide Partner Conference in Toronto in July, revealed high hopes for Surface. He announced that the company and its partners will sell 375 million PCs in 2013, of which, "a few million" will be Surface PCs. With this statement, Ballmer has completely refuted experts' verdict on the Surface's expected failure in the market due to low customer interest.
Microsoft is yet to respond to the $199 price rumor.
