Microsoft Surface release confirmed for October 26
In a US Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing, Microsoft officially nailed down the release date for its hotly-anticipated Surface tablet: October 26. If this date sounds familiar, it’s because it’s also the release date for Windows 8. Microsoft previously said that the ARM-based Surface would hit stores around the time of Windows 8’s General Availability (GA), but the SEC filing has given everyone an actual date to look forward to.
“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. Suggested retail pricing will be announced closer to availability and is expected to be competitive with a comparable ARM tablet or Intel Ultrabook-class PC.”
Last week, a crazy rumor was bounced around claiming that the Surface would cost $1,000-$2,000. This was quickly disproved. Based on Microsoft’s statements in the SEC filing, the ARM-based Surface (which comes in 32GB and 64GB variants) will probably start around $500, while the Intel-based Surface Pro (64GB or 128GB) will probably start around $1,000. This, of course, is just a guess at this point, and information about the exact specs is completely under wraps.
The Surface Pro will be made available 90 days after the Surface, which places its release date sometime in January. In fact, Microsoft could very well launch the device during its CES keynote. Will you be picking up a Surface? And, if so, which version?
[SEC via CNET]
