14 DAY TRIAL // It looks like we aren't the only ones who think that the prices of the Windows 8 and Window RT devices revealed so far are, to put it lightly, too high. Analysts have the very same feeling.
International Data Corporation (IDC for short) tried not to be too harsh in its words, but that doesn't mean it was any less honest.
Bob O'Donnell, program vice president of clients and displays at IDC, said that the prices were “way too high” and that even docks included in the price (which is an exception, not the rule) didn't justify the sums that companies wanted.
"The problem is these things are priced way too high. Look at the history of tablet products priced above the iPad. Not pretty," he told CNET.
"I can't say I'm excited about the Yoga 11. [An Nvidia] Tegra 3 tablet running Windows RT and priced at $799 definitely wouldn't be my first choice...The keyboard attachment is appreciated, but whether it justifies this tablet's very high price remains to be seen."
Lenovo introduced the IdeaPad Yoga 11 yesterday, along with another one, Yoga 13, which has an even more painful tag, of $1,099 / 1,099 Euro.
Sure, the latter isn't a tablet per se, but an ultrabook with a 360-degree hinge, yet that still makes it too expensive.
It might not have been such a big deal if these devices, which aren't really slates like the 11.6-Inch Lenovo IdeaTab Lynx (also too expensive, but we digress) hadn't been advertised as slate-type, touch-centric multimedia devices.
Microsoft and its launch partners may be trying to bet on the fact that, if all Windows 8 devices are so expensive, customers will just shrug and order them due to lack of alternatives. We doubt it is wise to rely on the hype of Windows 8 so much, especially since there are alternatives (Apple iPad and Android tablets).
Maybe Dell will release something priced decently this week, but we won't trust a hope. We tried that with Acer's Iconia W510 which, though apparently “affordable”, doesn't include the dock in the base price.