Punters may have to pay a fortune for Windows 8 tablets

Many people are waiting with baited breath for the upcoming release of Windows 8 tablets, however if initial reports from the Far East are to be taken seriously, it looks like many of the tablets may cost between $600 and $900, which could translate to a minimum of £500. If this is right, Microsoft may have a hard sell in an iPad dominated market.

Digitimes reported that problems between Microsoft and Intel may be part of the problem, with Intel “unwilling to drop their related hardware and Clover Trail-W prices.”

It is worth pointing out to UK punters that an iPad 2 can be bought in the US for $500 (16GB version), so the Microsoft tablets may very well cost even more than the Apple products. If the upper end price point of $900 is accurate, then the tablet price will be very close to the entry level Ultrabooks which Intel are keen on selling in 2012. If that is the case, then Microsoft are on a slippery road.

Microsoft may very well have to look at processors from other companies such as ARM or Nvidia if they want to achieve reasonable price points. They will also need to be seriously sexy to get the attention of the mainstream punter who has already accepted the iPad tablet computers with open arms.

Kitguru says: Would you pay more than an iPad for a Windows 8 tablet?

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