Microsoft Surface tablet may cost up to $800

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Microsoft is yet to announced official pricing for its Surface tablet. -Photo by TheVerge.com

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says the forthcoming Surfacetablet is likely to cost anything between $300 and $800.

In an interview with the Seattle Times, the ‘Hank from Breaking Bad’ lookalike speaks of a ‘sweet spot’ for pricing, based around the current PC market.

The most expensive iPad (64GB with Wi-Fi and Celluar) costs $829 (£649), so even if the Surface ranges up to $800 it would still sit slightly below the iPad.

“We haven’t announced pricing (for the Surface). I think we have a very competitive product from the features perspective,” said Ballmer.

“If you say to somebody, would you use one of the 7-inch tablets, would somebody ever use a Kindle (Fire) to do their homework?

“The answer is no; you never would. It’s just not a good enough product. It doesn’t mean you might not read a book on it.

“If you look at the bulk of the PC market, it would run between, say, probably $300 to about $700 or $800. That’s the sweet spot.”

Ballmer’s estimate puts the UK price-point at anywhere between £185 for the smaller end models and £493 for the top-end model.

The Microsoft Surface tablet will go on sale on October 26 in the US and the UK, the same day that Windows 8 is released into the wild.

VIA Seattle Times