Both the 128 GB version and 64 GB Pro are shown as out of stock on MicrosoftStore.com. To date, the Microsoft online store in Canada has two versions. The devices are also sold in various brick-and-mortar retailers.
$ 900 and $ 1000 (64GB price tags and 128, respectively) do not include the keyboard with "Touch Cover" of the device, which plays an important role in marketing for the gadget. This add-on costs another $ 120. (And the "Cover Type" keyboard that includes a more conventional - with actual keys - runs another $ 130.)
It is not clear how many pros have sold. A Microsoft representative offered a "no comment" when asked. The company was first delivered about 1.25 million units of the device area early - RT - but sold only 680,000 and 750,000 in the first two months of availability, the research firm IHS iSuppli market says CNET Late last month. iSuppli had predicted sales of $ 1.3 million, but he said that the actual figures are not unusual. On the other hand, the rates of return are high, perhaps due to a steep learning curve with the new touch-centric Windows 8.
The researcher says he has seen the industry momentum behind the beefier Pro version of the surface. The Pro is different from the RT in that it runs the full version of Windows 8 on an Intel processor and can handle ordinary real Windows applications (and is backward compatible with earlier versions of these applications). However, the device took a little heat by critics who said it does not provide enough storage space for files and not very good autonomy. Microsoft recently took to Reddit to answer these criticisms.
To learn more about the differences between the Pro and RT, see Brooke Crothers post "yesterday.
