Microsoft launching Surface in Japan

Microsoft are launching the Surface Windows 8 tablet in Japan next month according to reports from the Nikkei news service.

A Microsoft spokeswoman confirmed with CNET that the Surface will reach Japan in the near future but didn't specify a precise date.

The spokeswoman said “As part of our phased approach to Surface availability, Surface will be coming to Japan in the near future.” According to the reports Microsoft will be focusing on the Surface RT tablet which is limited to the installed applications and Windows Store programs.

The 32Gb Surface Tab may cost around the 50,000 yen mark in Japan. The RT was released in October in U.S., Canada, the U.K., France, Germany, Hong Kong, Australia, and China. On February 14th the RT tablet went on sale in 13 additional countries throughout Europe including Austria, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Sweden.

Microsoft recently released the Surface Pro featuring X86 Intel processors which can run a much wider range of software, but they sport a significant price premium and suffer from reduced battery life. No news on a Japanese release of the Pro tablet yet.

Kitguru says: It will be interesting to see how the Japanese audience respond to the Windows 8 tablet from Microsoft.

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