Microsoft Surface for Windows RT tablet coming October 26th for $199?

[Meerkat.$]

If its that price ill get one but im in uk..


xo

[GommeInc]

Depends on the price of the competition but price fixing could be an issue. If the Nexus 7, Surface, iPad and other tablets share the same price the relevant US body for competition would probably have a field day, assuming they care. The EU would go insane if tablets were pricing themselves the same, but that's EU law for you - they only really care about price rather than any relevant information like performance which really sets each product different from the rest.

There's also another law where selling products low and you're not making a profit is also considered illegal, but that only really concerns perishables.

[HotelUser]

Depends on the price of the competition but price fixing could be an issue. If the Nexus 7, Surface, iPad and other tablets share the same price the relevant US body for competition would probably have a field day, assuming they care. The EU would go insane if tablets were pricing themselves the same, but that's EU law for you - they only really care about price rather than any relevant information like performance which really sets each product different from the rest.

There's also another law where selling products low and you're not making a profit is also considered illegal, but that only really concerns perishables.

I think you're right in that antitrust lawsuits will arise from Microsoft's actions, but I don't think that's really going to stop them. Do you remember when office came out? Microsoft gave huge discounts, even included it along with Windows. They practically gave it away in many circumstances to gain marketshare. They did the same thing with Internet Explorer (giving it away included with Windows).

Microsoft is good at getting marketshare this way, even if it hurts their profits. They know that if they make people depend on their products, they can then raise the price, or adapt to the market later to profit from their venture. Microsoft makes more money from their business products now then they do from anything else, and this is why.

It's genius that Google's selling the N7 at a profit loss for marketshare, because they probably anticipate Microsoft doing the same thing to gain marketshare themselves. If Apple's smart, they'll release a lower end iPad to compete at a cheaper price (I doubt they'll ever sell tablets for $200 a pop), and with Google (and partners), Microsoft and Apple at war for marketshare it means consumers are going to get tablets at unbelievably cheap prices.

[GommeInc]

I think you're right in that antitrust lawsuits will arise from Microsoft's actions, but I don't think that's really going to stop them. Do you remember when office came out? Microsoft gave huge discounts, even included it along with Windows. They practically gave it away in many circumstances to gain marketshare. They did the same thing with Internet Explorer (giving it away included with Windows).

Microsoft is good at getting marketshare this way, even if it hurts their profits. They know that if they make people depend on their products, they can then raise the price, or adapt to the market later to profit from their venture. Microsoft makes more money from their business products now then they do from anything else, and this is why.

It's genius that Google's selling the N7 at a profit loss for marketshare, because they probably anticipate Microsoft doing the same thing to gain marketshare themselves. If Apple's smart, they'll release a lower end iPad to compete at a cheaper price (I doubt they'll ever sell tablets for $200 a pop), and with Google (and partners), Microsoft and Apple at war for marketshare it means consumers are going to get tablets at unbelievably cheap prices.

It's shocking you can buy the Nexus 7 16GB for £199 through ebuyer.com over here, I'm sure you know that we usually get the rough end of the stick There are strong rumours going around that Apple are considering a smaller iPad. Have you heard of them? It's a smart move because so many people buying 7" Tablets (Nexus 7, Kindle Fire etc) are saying how it fits perfectly in the hand compared to 10" Tabs. It's strange, people want larger smartphones but they want smaller Tablets We're slowly moving into a comfortable medium.

The Surface does look very impressive, and if Microsoft make a loss on it the end customer is going to lap it up for that price. As for Office, is that the current edition? They did a similar tactic with Windows 7 by selling it for cheap - getting people buying it and then putting the price up. A smart move as it did make it incredibly popular and well used.

[xxMATTGxx]

Good job that old Anti-Trust thing is over and done with eh?

[Chippiewill]

Good job that old Anti-Trust thing is over and done with eh?

They're more interested in Google, Facebook and Apple now..

[GommeInc]

They're more interested in Google, Facebook and Apple now..

Germany love Facebook at the moment, reopening their anti-trust suit over the face recognition technology