Microsoft on Thursday announced the pricing for its forthcoming Surface Pro tablet models, which will go on sale in January 2013: The 64 GB version will cost $899 and the 128 GB version will cost $999, double the cost of the entry level price for the current Surface RT models that went on sale October 26. Here’s a promotional image:
Surface Pro tablets will run a full version of Windows 8 Pro, though, which supports older Windows programs, while the current Surface tablets run a lighter, less-processor demanding version of Windows 8 called Windows RT, which doesn’t support legacy Windows software.
“Surface with Windows 8 Pro will run your current Windows 7 desktop applications – it’s a full PC AND a tablet,” reads Microsoft’s blog post.
Surface Pro tablets also ship with a Surface pen stylus with “Palm Block” technology, which is designed to allow a user to rest their hand against the screen while using the stylus, without the screen erroneously registering marks from the hand. Microsoft’s much-hyped “Touch Cover” and “Type Cover” keyboards will ship separately, presumably for the $100 or $119 price at which they currently retail.
