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If you were hoping to pick up a cheap Windows 8 tablet anytime soon you may want to revise your plans.
According to a report on VR-Zone, Microsoft will be charging OEMs between $80 and $95 for a Windows RT license. Windows RT is the new version of Windows being developed to run on ARM devices, and will be what anyone buying a Windows 8 tablet will be using. Windows 8 is due to be released later this year, and with it the first batch of Windows 8 tablets.
The alleged price Microsoft is charging was derived from asking “multiple vendors” at the recent Computex trade show in Taipei. They reported paying around $85 for each Windows RT license. Furthermore some suggested that the launch devices would go on sale for between $549 and $799, with premium devices pushing the price up to $899.
This is ludicrous. The new iPad costs $499, which is already out of reach of ordinary consumers. And yet tablet manufacturers are hoping to sell Windows 8-powered devices for higher prices than that. For which Microsoft has to take at least some of the blame for not selling the licenses dirt cheap in order to kickstart their position in the marketplace.
For Windows 8 tablets to succeed there needs to be a range of devices available at all prices. From budget tablets to premium hybrid devices. Pegging them all at least $50 above the latest iPad would be commercial suicide.
As nice as some of the Windows 8 devices currently emerging are few people would choose to buy one over a new iPad with its Retina Display. At the other end of the market is a wide range of cheap Android tablets, with the pricing of those aided by the fact that OEMs can use Android (almost) for free.
I was keen looking forward to a new player entering the tablet market in the form of Windows 8, but if these rumors are true they’ll somewhat dampen my enthusiasm. Microsoft declined to comment.
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