Can a sub-$400 Surface RT give new life to Microsoft's tablet?

June 16, 2013

Microsoft will probably price its own 8-inch Surface tablet running Windows RT at $349, just 6 percent higher than Apple's iPad Mini but nowhere near the basement $199 of Android rivals, an analyst said last week. Sameer Singh, an analyst who covers tablets and smartphones at his Tech-Thoughts website, pegged the price of an expected Windows RT-powered Surface RT "Mini" using a bill of materials (BOM) estimate largely based on industry-wide commodity component costs. Using the same techniques last year—akin to the "virtual" tear-downs that other research firms have conducted before a rumored product is actually released—Singh accurately predicted the eventual retail prices of Microsoft's Surface RT and Surface Pro tablets. His sight-unseen BOM for an 8-inch, 16GB Surface RT tablet totaled $203.40, which included a $13 charge for manufacturing. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Link: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2042093/can-a-sub-400-surface-rt-give-new-life-to-microsofts-tablet-.html#tk.rss_all