ASUS Prepares New Tablets For Windows 8 – Prices Leaked

ASUS appears like they are preparing several hybrids for the Windows 8 launch this holiday season and a marketing slide has leaked out that shows pricing. This is interesting to see as not much has been said about pricing on the tablet/hybrid market for these new touch friendly Windows 8 devices. Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer told the public back in August that the Microsoft Windows RT Surface tablet will be $199, but it appears that will only be possible with heavy subsidies. Ballmer told The Seattle Times this week a different story, “If you look at the bulk of the PC market, it would run between, say, probably $300 to about $700 or $800,” he told the newspaper. “That’s the sweet spot.” Ballmer wrapped up the Microsoft Surface RT and Surface Pro pricing mystery when he said they would cost between $300 and $800 at the time of launch. This means that Microsoft is clear pitting the Surface RT against the Apple iPad at approximately $450-500, while the higher priced Surface Pro will take on ultrabooks.

ASUS Tablet Prices For The Windows 8 Launch Time Frame:

• ASUS Vivo Tab RT: 10.1-inch Windows RT tablet $599 + keyboard dock for $199
• ASUS Vivo Tab: 11.6-inch Atom powered Windows 8 tablet $799 + keyboard dock for $199
• ASUS Taichi: 11.6-inch dual panel full HD tablet, innovative product at $1299 RRP

The slide shows that ASUS is aiming to enter the market with a 10.1-inch Windows RT tablet at $599 and an optional keyboard dock for another $199. This base price is more than twice the entry level price point mentioned by Steve Ballmer. Pretty soon Ultrabooks will all be touch enabled, so seeing the ASUS Taichi hitting $1300 means that it will be competing with nicely loaded Ultrabooks!