Microsoft today announced that its Surface Pro tablet will go on sale on February 9 in the United States and Canada. Originally slated to arrive in January, the Surface Pro tablet is priced at $899 for the 64GB model and $999 for the 128GB model.
The Surface Pro sports an Intel Core i5 processor with Intel HD Graphics 4000, 4GB of RAM, and a more robust battery. Unlike the RT version of the Surface, it is able to run the full version of Windows 8 as well as Windows 7 applications.
Both versions of the Surface Pro ship with a Surface pen, but the Touch or Type Covers, which retail for $100, are not included.
Anandtech took a preliminary look at the tablet, and created a chart comparing the Surface Pro to the Surface RT and Apple's iPad.
Beginning on February 9, the Surface Pro will be available for purchase on Microsoft’s website, at Microsoft retail outlets, and third party retailers like Staples and Best Buy.
Alongside the Pro, Microsoft is planning to release a 64GB standalone version of the Surface RT for $599, $100 less than the version that ships with the included Touch Cover, and a slew of new Surface accessories.
Friday November 6, 2026 3:27 pm PST by Juli Clover
When the iPhone Duo launched, we shared a list of some of the fun apps developers created for the new form factor. Two weeks out, developers are continuing to come up with fresh ideas, so we thought we'd share some of our favorites.
Games
Marbles Unhinged ($2.99) - Marbles Unhinged is a marble maze designed for the Duo. When you fold it, the floor turns into a ramp. If you stand the top...
Sunday November 8, 2026 7:42 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple has made a change to its development process for iOS 28, macOS 28, and corresponding software updates, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In his Power On newsletter today, he said Apple separates development of each year's new operating systems into three major stages. Typically, he said each stage consists of four weeks of coding followed by a four-week "convergence" period where...
Thursday November 5, 2026 12:59 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is launching five new products on Friday, November 6, following pre-orders that opened last week, including its first touchscreen MacBook Pro models.
The following new products will be available from today:
iPad mini with OLED display and A20 Pro chip
iMac with M6 chip
14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 chip
14-inch MacBook Pro with OLED touchscreen
16-inch MacBook Pro with OLED...
The more appropriate price comparison here is to the MacBook Air (and Touch Cover or Type Cover keyboard needs to be included in that price comparison). From the early reviews I have read, Surface continues to be a compromised tablet and a compromised "ultrabook".
As a tablet it is heavy and much of the software is not optimized for touch.
As an ultrabook it cannot be comfortably used in your lap and the keyboard and trackpad are not as good as the MacBook Air.
I think the Windows 8 OEM's have better answers for the "convertible tablet/ultrabook" category than Microsoft does.
EDIT: According to Microsoft (http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/Press/2013/Jan13/01-22SurfaceFamilyPR.aspx), the Type Cover is NOT included in the $899 price. They refer to it as optional in a caption for a picture, and when listing what is included, they omit it. So the Surface Pro price (with keyboard) is $1028 versus the MacBook Air at $999. If you are in the market for a convertible Windows 8 machine, I would look to one of the Microsoft OEM's that at least gives you an actual full-blown UltraBook that can be used in your lap, but can also serve as a compromised tablet like the Surface Pro. There is no sense on compromising both the laptop and tablet experience in a convertible laptop.
Microsoft today announced that its Surface Pro tablet will go on sale on February 9 in the United States and Canada. Originally slated to arrive in January, the Surface Pro tablet is priced at $899 for the 64GB model and $999 for the 128GB model.
