14 DAY TRIAL // We’ve already told you that Panos Panay, the man in charge with the Surface tablet at Microsoft, confirmed that the Pro version is now in production, but there’s one more important information the company executive has revealed in his short tweet.
Panay confirmed that the Surface with Windows 8 Pro would be released in “weeks,” suggesting that the device is very likely to go live by the end of the month.
The company initially said that the Surface Pro would be launched approximately 90 days after the Surface RT, so January 26 was believed to be the day when the device would get to see daylight.
An insider, on the other hand, told us that Microsoft planned to debut the second Surface tablet on January 29 and, given the fact that January 26 is actually the last Saturday of the month, our sources may have been right.
The Surface Pro has reportedly received the FCC approvals and is now in production, with two different models to be released.
The entry-level model will be priced at $899 (€676) and will offer 64 GB of storage space, while the second version will include 128 GB of storage with a price tag of $999 (€752).
Microsoft won’t include the famous Touch Cover in the package, but instead, both versions will be delivered with a Surface pen with Palm Block technology. The keyboard will be available separately.
One of the most controversial features of the yet-to-be-released Surface with Windows 8 Pro is the battery which, according to Panay, will provide half the autonomy of the RT version. This means the battery will last approximately 4 hours which, for a tablet, may be fairly disappointing.
The Surface Pro is expected to impress with its performance as the device will feature the full version of Windows 8, with support for legacy apps.