The blizzard (Nemo) may have gotten in the middle of the Microsoft Surface Pro launch event in New York City, but that didn’t stop the device from going on sale. Today Microsoft finally released the second version of its tablet with a full-blown version of Windows 8 to the public. Starting today people in the U.S. and Canada can purchase the device at Best Buy, Staples and, of course, at all the Microsoft Store locations and online at MicrosoftSotre.com.
What’s interesting is that the 128 GB Surface Pro version, powered by Windows 8 Pro that doesn’t come with a Type or Touch cover and cost $999 is already sold out at the Microsoftstore.com. When you will see this model back on stock is yet to be announced. Although, apparently there still plenty 64 GB versions of the Pro version that runs for $899.
But we also have to consider that the folks at Redmond were only planning to ship one million units. This is far less than the four million units planned for Surface RT. Maybe this is one of the reasons why is selling so quickly.
Also according to Neowin, Microsoft is offering a $20 discount when you bundle your purchase with 1-year Office 365 Home Premium subscription. And if you want to extend your warranty to 2 years, the software giant will give you a $50 discount for a limited time.
At the moment Surface Pro is available in the U.S. and in Canada, Microsoft is planning to make available its new hardware member around the world, but there is no word yet on when or in which countries will be available first. Surface RT is already selling in various territories and another thirteen European countries (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland) by February 14th.
There are really high hopes for this tablet, but we’ll have to wait and see how everything plays out.
Update: Both the 128 GB and 64 GB version of Surface Pro are now sold out at the online Microsoft Store. This means that the company cleared out all its online inventory in less than 15 hours.
Also words from Engadget reveals that the 128 GB Surface Pro has sold out at some physical stores in the U.S.
Update: In response to the large demand of the tablet, Panos Panay, Corporate Vice President at Microsoft in charge of the Surface family, said in a new article at the Surface Blog that the company is working to fix the inventory shortage. Here is what he is his statement:
“Customer response to the launch of Surface Pro has been amazing. We’re working with our retail partners who are currently out of stock of the 128 GB Surface Pro to replenish supplies as quickly as possible. Our priority is to ensure that every customer gets their new Surface Pro as soon as possible.”
Also, in the previous update I mentioned that the 64 GB model was sold out as well at the online Microsoft Store, but now it seems that the company has managed to add more units for customers who prefer to get the device online.
