Microsoft reveals Surface tablet pricing

ASPIRING GADGET DESIGNER Microsoft has disclosed pricing for its Surface tablets and opened preorders for the Windows RT devices.

Prices in the UK will start at £399 for the Surface with Windows RT, the version of the Windows 8 operating system the runs on ARM based devices, Microsoft said.

Touch Covers for the tablets, which protect the Surface as well as providing a touch-sensitive keyboard, will be priced at £99.99 and available in black, white and cyan. Alternatively, a Type Cover that provides full moving keys will also be available for £109.99.

Microsoft said that customers can now preorder the tablets from its Surface website in eight markets including the UK, US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, China and Hong Kong, although the preorder website was down when we checked on Tuesday afternoon.

However, the Surface tablets will not be available until the Windows 8 launch on 26 October.

Microsoft first disclosed that it would sell its own-brand tablet devices back in June.

The Surface tablet range will include both Windows RT models that include versions of Office 2013 applications and x86 models running Windows 8 Pro. Pricing for the latter models has yet to be disclosed. µ

This article was originally published on V3.