Don't hold your breath...
[...]
I also must note that in two ways this was a very typical Microsoft vaporware announcement: promise the world but donÂt mention when it will be available or what it will cost.
How vapor is it? During the demo to the hand-picked press and employee audience, the demo tablet crashed when Steven Sinofsky, president of the Windows division tried to run a Netflix application.
While Microsoft refused to announce any pricing, the company did say it would be competitive with comparable ARM tab/Intel Ultrabook-class PC. That would put the RT device at about $500 and the Ultrabook at around $900.
This make me wonder what MicrosoftÂs original equipment manufacturer (OEM) partners are going to think about this? If I were Dell, HP, et. al., I wouldnÂt be one bit happy. As for Apple and the Android vendors, I wouldnÂt be in the least bit worried.
There are Android 4.0 tablets on Amazon for less than $100 now. The $250 Archos I got J recently is very very good. Prices for non-Apple tablets are falling. I don't think Microsoft will sell too many of their thingies for $500. They've had ~ 2.5 years to catch up with Apple's iPad and aren't there yet. But we'll see.
Cheers,
Scott.