Pricing on Microsoft (MSFT) Surface Starts to Look Competitive
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Following Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer all but spilling the beans on pricing for its Surface tablet line, Digitimes took the inspiration and ran with it Tuesday morning.
Digitimes cites supply chain sources in saying pricing for the Surface Windows RT device will be under $399. The price comes as the sources cautioned that hardware costs on the device will be $300 to $400. Hardware costs for the x86 version will be about $400 to $500.
Given that no licensing fees will need to be paid, the Windows 8 Pro x86 tablet is said to price $100 to $200 above the Windows RT version, or about $500 to $700. That's to the low-end of Ballmer's expectations, which were at $700 to $800 as of recent comments.
Pricing on Windows 8 tablets from Microsoft's licensing peers will also be in a similar range, with Digitimes saying the companies will still draw a profit from the devices amid stiff competition.
By comparison, Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPad starts at about $500 (or $400 for the older iPad 2), while Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) and Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) have smaller tablets on sale for about $200 each. Given the expected increase in quality for the Surface, pricing between $300 and $400 for the Windows RT model might put Microsoft on the map,
Shares of Microsoft are indicated higher ahead of the opening bell Tuesday.
Digitimes cites supply chain sources in saying pricing for the Surface Windows RT device will be under $399. The price comes as the sources cautioned that hardware costs on the device will be $300 to $400. Hardware costs for the x86 version will be about $400 to $500.
Given that no licensing fees will need to be paid, the Windows 8 Pro x86 tablet is said to price $100 to $200 above the Windows RT version, or about $500 to $700. That's to the low-end of Ballmer's expectations, which were at $700 to $800 as of recent comments.
Pricing on Windows 8 tablets from Microsoft's licensing peers will also be in a similar range, with Digitimes saying the companies will still draw a profit from the devices amid stiff competition.
By comparison, Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPad starts at about $500 (or $400 for the older iPad 2), while Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) and Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) have smaller tablets on sale for about $200 each. Given the expected increase in quality for the Surface, pricing between $300 and $400 for the Windows RT model might put Microsoft on the map,
Shares of Microsoft are indicated higher ahead of the opening bell Tuesday.
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