Surface Pro to launch at Best Buy midnight event in NYC on Feb 8

By Trevor Mogg Published February 15, 2013

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Check out our full review of the Microsoft Surface Pro tablet.

Recommended Videos

Microsoft will launch its Surface Pro tablet at a special event in New York City at midnight on the evening of Friday, February 8.

The company will first hold a private reception before the special launch event at Best Buy in Manhattan’s Union Square at midnight, ZDNet reported after seeing an invitation to the gathering.

Panos Panay, general manager of the Surface team, will reportedly be in attendance at the late-night launch, along with members of Microsoft’s Windows team. The Windows 8 tablet will go on sale across the US and Canada the following morning.

The Pro version will hit stores four months after the trimmed-down RT version went on sale. The more powerful Pro model runs on an Intel Core i5 processor and comes in two flavors: 64GB for $899 and 128GB for $999. Consumers interested in a Touch Cover keyboard will have to fork out an extra $120.

Following reports of lower-than-expected demand for the RT version, Microsoft executives will certainly be watching the sales figures for the Pro with bated breath.

The Pro’s prospects won’t have been helped by a report yesterday that a good chunk of its memory will be lost to the operating system, with the 64GB version shipping with only 23GB of available storage space and the 128GB version coming with just 83GB of free space. However, Pro owners will be able to utilize the microSDXC card slot to increase its storage capacity by up to 64GB, if they wish. It’s also possible for users with the know-how to reclaim some of that lost storage space.

Come February 9, consumers will be able to pick up a Surface Pro tablet from Microsoft retail stores, Staples and Best Buy. Online orders will also be possible at microsoftstore.com. While no date has yet been given for a roll out beyond the US and Canada, the Surface RT is set to hit stores in 13 additional markets, all in Europe, in the coming weeks. The RT is already available in Australia, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, and the UK, besides the US and Canada.

Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

Topics

Computing

The ever-popular Microsoft Surface Pro has a $380 discount today

Microsoft Surface Pro 11 front view in tablet mode.

If you've always wanted to own a Microsoft Surface Pro, now's the perfect time to make your purchase as the latest model, the Microsoft Surface Pro 11, is on sale from Walmart with a massive $380 discount. From its original price of $1,200, it will be yours for a more affordable $820. You're going to have to hurry in completing your transaction though -- with the popularity of this line of devices, we're not sure how much longer stocks will last and when the offer expires.

Why you should buy the Microsoft Surface Pro 11

Computing

Apple MacBook Air 13 (M4) vs. Microsoft Surface Pro 11: two diminutive laptops fight for the top

Apple MacBook Air 13 M4 front angled view showing display and keyboard.

It might seem strange to compare a clamshell laptop with a detachable tablet 2-in-1, but the fact is, if you're look for a small yet powerful, highly portable PC, you have two great options. The Apple MacBook Air 13 (M4) is the best 13-inch laptop you can buy (maybe the best ever), and the Microsoft Surface Pro 11 is the best 2-in-1.

Both are very small, both are fast and get great battery life, and so both can serve anyone well who wants a real PC that feels more like a mobile device. But which one is the right choice for you?
Specs and configurations

Computing

Microsoft Surface Pro 11 is $500 off at Best Buy (with a bonus)

The Microsoft Surface Pro 11 with Surface Slim Pen 2 and Surface Pro Flex Keyboard.

The Microsoft Surface Pro 11 can combine all the best things about laptop deals and tablet deals if you pair it with the Surface Slim Pen 2 and Surface Pro Flex Keyboard. Fortunately, you can buy all of these with huge discounts from Best Buy! The Microsoft Surface Pro 11 is on sale at $500 off, bringing the device's price down to $1,600 from $2,100, while a bundle that includes the Surface Slim Pen 2 and the Surface Pro Flex Keyboard is available at $100 off, so you'll only have to pay $350 instead of $450. That's a total of $600 in savings, so you'll only have to pay $1,950 for everything instead of $2,550, but you better hurry because either offer may expire at any moment.
Microsoft Surface Pro 11 -- $1,600 $2,100 24% off

We described the Microsoft Surface Pro 11 as a "spectacular" device in our review, and we awarded it a score of 4.5 stars out of 5 stars -- so it's a steal at a 24% discount that translates to $500 in savings. The 13-inch PixelSense touchscreen with 2880 x 1920 resolution and OLED technology is simply stunning, and it will be able to handle demanding tasks with its Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite processor, Qualcomm Adreno GPU, and 32GB of RAM. It's also a Copilot+ device, which means it ships with Windows 11 Home pre-installed in its 1TB SSD and it's designed to fully take advantage of Microsoft's Copilot. The Microsoft Surface Pro 11 headlines our list of the best 2-in-1 laptops, but you'll need to buy the following accessories to maximize its potential.