Possible deal breaker if Microsoft Surface is Wi-Fi only
Earlier this week Microsoft announced its upcoming new range of Tablet PCs that has left many wondering if the company has joined the Table PC party too late to have any significant impact, and today we have news of a possible deal breaker if the Microsoft Surface is Wi-Fi only.
When the company first announced the new devices there wasn’t much information regarding the actual specs of them, and now according to Bloomberg sources are suggesting the Microsoft Surface will ship without a mobile connection, at least when it is first available. It is being said that the company is equipping the device with only a Wi-Fi connection.
It was believed that the Microsoft Surface will go up against the market leader Apple’s iPad, which begun selling its latest version back in March and features LTE compatibly. Since the original iPad went on sale the device had the option of a mobile phone chip so users can access the Internet while on the go, and the company also provides a Wi-Fi only model.
Similar Wi-Fi only models make up a larger part of the market and this decision by Microsoft may have been taken to keep costs down, according to Creative Strategies analyst, Ben Bajarin. There are many users of tablet PCs that mainly use the devices at home where they have a Wi-Fi connection, which in turn avoids expensive data plans.
The company revealed that the Surface tablets will go on sale later this year, which sees a change of direction for the company as previously it focused on PC software, and left the hardware side of things to its many partners. Microsoft are said to be using the Pegatron Corp as its manufacturer for the Surface tablet PCs, which also assembles the Apple iPhone.
Will you still get the Microsoft Surface if it is Wi-Fi only?
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One thought on “Possible deal breaker if Microsoft Surface is Wi-Fi only”
i always found this a rediculous stragtegy by manufacturers of tablets.
Does the cellular radio reallycost that much tonotinclude it in the hardware?
And while I understand a slight upcharge for the model with the cellular chip that can be enabled.
why do sale outlets get to charge a super premium AND get to force a contract for their data plan as part of purchase? Â
what if I want to buy a tablet that CAN be connected to a data network but I do notcurrentlywish todo so because I am uncertain of my need for non-wifi access?
I don’t want to buy wifi only and be stuck buy another model with non-wifi data ability.
And for the huge price premium charged for 3g/4g chips why aren’t all the variants on one chip and I get to decide which to use and where?
I am interested in the MStablet but lateto the game is ok, limited usability is a dumb barrier to add to that.