Microsoft Surface sold out

I was going to blog about who on earth would buy the Microsoft Surface when in this morning's news I read that it has sold out already! It seems that a lot of people do want to buy it, or maybe Microsoft simply didn't order many).

Microsoft recently opened for pre orders and you can buy it right now with delivery at the end of the month in two weeks' time. The starting price is $499 or £399 if you are in the UK like me.

The problem I see with the Surface with Windows RT is that it is the same price as the iPad 3, which has a zillion more apps and a whole world of accessories. The Surface does have a clever cover/keyboard, but it's expensive and adds £80 to the price. A keyboard is not essential on a tablet though and this accessory is more applicable to the Surface with Windows 8 Pro. That's more like an ultra light laptop because it runs the full version of Windows 8 and Office. I can see businesses buying that instead of laptops. It's basically a smaller, lighter, laptop with a detachable keyboard and touch screen. The price of that has been announced yet.

There is the novelty value of a new tablet and the status of being the first among your friends to have the latest gadget, but I'm not sure a month after launch day the Surface will be selling that well.

I have two tablets, the iPad and a Google Nexus 7. These are at opposite ends of the tablet range and Apple dominates the top end while Android (Google and Amazon) dominate the bottom end. Surely Surface would be better as a mid-range tablet offering the best of both worlds - power without the price? Add a few accessories or a bit more memory to the Surface and it will cost more than a laptop. That would make me think twice about buying one.

And then there's the iPad Mini, not officially launched yet, but what else can Apple be launching next week? How will the Surface look when there's an even cheaper iPad rival? (Actually there is already, the iPad 2, which is still a great tablet, is £80 cheaper than the Surface.)  I foresee a price drop from Microsoft. I think I will wait and see what happens.