Microsoft has started taking pre-orders for the Surface RT on Friday. According to a report by Washington Post, the 32GB tablet has already been sold out.
To make matters easier, stores have been handing out reservation cards to those customers who are certain to purchase the tablet. These cards will allow them to wait separate lines and were designed to avoid chaos at the 24 Microsoft stores across the country.
According to the Washington Post, "Card holders will be in a separate line for the tablets, but only have until noon to claim their Surface." However, the tablets will not be delivered till three weeks.
In addition to launching the tablet on October 26, the company is also said to reveal its latest software - Windows 8.
The least expensive Surface RT will sell at $499. This tablet consists of 32GB and will not include the "Touch Cover" i.e. the keyboard cover, which sells separately as $119.99. The higher model will sell at $699 and will include the keyboard cover.
As for Windows 8, Recently Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen, took to his blog to discuss the features of Microsoft's latest operating system. All in all Allen seems very pleased with Windows 8. He says that it is much "Snappier and more responsive than Windows 7."
The 59-year-old praised the latest system as an "evolutionary milestone in Window's development," according to his blog. Allen says that he has been using a release preview version of Windows 8, which was created primarily to expand windows support to P.Cs, smartphones and tablets.
And while Allen doesn't skip a beat to praise the successor of Windows 7, he acknowledges that there are some flaws in the system. These flaws are related to the system's bimodal interface, which Allen himself describes as "puzzling and confusing." What he found particularly confounded is that Windows 8 allows two applications to be opened and run simultaneously. Of course, Allen was quick to point that there was a solution to the problem, "Thankfully, you can alleviate these switching problems by changing file and program associations in Windows."
On the blog, "Paul Allen - Idea Man," he goes on to explain the workings of the system and also provides tips on how to optimize its usefulness.
In another story, Michelle Maisto of eWeek, says that the Microsoft is likely to dabble into the hardware line, namely a possible smartphone. Maisto cites WP Central, which confirms speculations saying, "Details about what it looks like, hardware specifications, launch times, etc., have not been shared with us by the person(s) who have provided the information...The only thing we do know is when compared to current WP8 hardware, it's something unique."
Other hardware producers have already started expressing concern over the matter. J.T. Wang, CEO of Acer told eWeek, "If Microsoft is going to do hardware business, what should we do?" said Wang. "Should we still rely on Microsoft or should we find other alternatives?"
Both the tablet and software will be launched on October 26.
