Microsoft Surface 2 4G LTE Tablet Available for $679

[exfileme]

The 4G LTE version of Microsoft's Surface has finally arrived.

Microsoft Surface 2 4G LTE Tablet Available for $679 : Read more

 

[brettms71]

Am I missing something with a big push to have LTE tablets? I just internet share with my phone, that way I only need one contract for one device and can share with all my other devices wirelessly when I am out and about. Or is there a reason you can't do that in some countries like America maybe?

 

[csbeer]

'This screen is backed by the company's Windows RT 8.1 operating system, and Nvidia's Tegra 4 quad-core chip.' Say what? $679 for RT?...I'd rather pay $199 for the Surface 1 RT and just add a cellular dongle. Heehee, dongle.

 

[jerm1027]

Am I missing something with a big push to have LTE tablets? I just internet share with my phone, that way I only need one contract for one device and can share with all my other devices wirelessly when I am out and about. Or is there a reason you can't do that in some countries like America maybe?

Most Americans pay a hefty extra fee for it, and the wireless companies will create a separate pool of data for tethering outside of the phone's data, which is just as expensive. That doesn't stop tech enthusiasts, but most Americans aren't tech enthusiasts with rooted phones that can tether for free. That's why there is a push for these devices. Plus, what happens when your phone's battery dies? I know Wi-Fi hotspot kills batteries quickly, even on my Galaxy Note II.

 

[lpedraja2002]

Am I missing something with a big push to have LTE tablets? I just internet share with my phone, that way I only need one contract for one device and can share with all my other devices wirelessly when I am out and about. Or is there a reason you can't do that in some countries like America maybe?

My thoughts exactly, I have questioned many on the benefits of having 3g for their laptops/tablets and they just answer with "If I don't have wi-fi I can use internet anywhere". I don't think they realize one can use the internet from a smartphone but maybe they're bound by contract. I know with AT&T and I think T-mobile you have to pay additional fees to enable tethering on the smartphone, which completely sucks. I'm lucky I use Claro on Puerto Rico and have "unilimited" internet which is capped if I consume more than 6gb but at least I can tether from my phone and it's waay cheaper than AT&T though customer service leaves a lot to be desired.

 

[csbeer]

'This screen is backed by the company's Windows RT 8.1 operating system, and Nvidia's Tegra 4 quad-core chip.' Say what? $679 for RT?...I'd rather pay $199 for the Surface 1 RT and just add a cellular dongle. Heehee, dongle.

 

[JD88]

Wait. So there's a $229 price premium for LTE? Is Microsoft really that out of touch with reality? Pile this one up on the flop train.

 

[jerm1027]

Am I missing something with a big push to have LTE tablets? I just internet share with my phone, that way I only need one contract for one device and can share with all my other devices wirelessly when I am out and about. Or is there a reason you can't do that in some countries like America maybe?

My thoughts exactly, I have questioned many on the benefits of having 3g for their laptops/tablets and they just answer with "If I don't have wi-fi I can use internet anywhere". I don't think they realize one can use the internet from a smartphone but maybe they're bound by contract. I know with AT&T and I think T-mobile you have to pay additional fees to enable tethering on the smartphone, which completely sucks. I'm lucky I use Claro on Puerto Rico and have "unilimited" internet which is capped if I consume more than 6gb but at least I can tether from my phone and it's waay cheaper than AT&T though customer service leaves a lot to be desired.

I'm on T-Mobile right now, and have unlimited data, which is uncapped, and unthrottled. While the company does expect fees for tethering, and blocks, and redirects traffic to an up-sale page if coming from a Windows computer if you haven't paid the fee, it doesn't stop me from chewing through 8GB/mo. Outside of that issue, I'm happy with T-Mobile. The extra fees also applies to Verizon and Sprint, though I don't think they block traffic if you are tethering to a Windows computer if you haven't paid them the fee. The only service I know of that doesn't make you pay an extra tethering fee is Ting, which runs off Sprint's network.

 

[JD88]

Am I missing something with a big push to have LTE tablets? I just internet share with my phone, that way I only need one contract for one device and can share with all my other devices wirelessly when I am out and about. Or is there a reason you can't do that in some countries like America maybe?

My thoughts exactly, I have questioned many on the benefits of having 3g for their laptops/tablets and they just answer with "If I don't have wi-fi I can use internet anywhere". I don't think they realize one can use the internet from a smartphone but maybe they're bound by contract. I know with AT&T and I think T-mobile you have to pay additional fees to enable tethering on the smartphone, which completely sucks. I'm lucky I use Claro on Puerto Rico and have "unilimited" internet which is capped if I consume more than 6gb but at least I can tether from my phone and it's waay cheaper than AT&T though customer service leaves a lot to be desired.

I'm on T-Mobile right now, and have unlimited data, which is uncapped, and unthrottled. While the company does expect fees for tethering, and blocks, and redirects traffic to an up-sale page if coming from a Windows computer if you haven't paid the fee, it doesn't stop me from chewing through 8GB/mo. Outside of that issue, I'm happy with T-Mobile. The extra fees also applies to Verizon and Sprint, though I don't think they block traffic if you are tethering to a Windows computer if you haven't paid them the fee. The only service I know of that doesn't make you pay an extra tethering fee is Ting, which runs off Sprint's network.

I'm on AT&T right now with a 10 GB share plan. I have unlimited teathering and my understanding is that any of the share plans also have it. Fees only seem to be associated with unlimited data plans which is one of the reasons I gave up my grandfathered plan. That and they throttle you after 3 GB anyway so I might as well pay the same money and get 10 gigs.

 

[wemakeourfuture]

Am I missing something with a big push to have LTE tablets? I just internet share with my phone, that way I only need one contract for one device and can share with all my other devices wirelessly when I am out and about. Or is there a reason you can't do that in some countries like America maybe?

People do not want to drain their phone battery nor be dependent on a second device to provide data to their tablet especially if the cost is about $100 more.$100 over average life span of a tablet, say 3 years, is $33 a day. That's $0.63 a week, it's a marginal increase in cost for a benefit they deem worth of that cost.At least with iPads the second hand market is pretty decent and you can even recover a bit of that extra cost for those more price sensitive.I know I would not buy a non-data tablet, that's a deal breaker for me.

 

[brazuka331]

If you get your phone with a contract like most people you can walk away with this tablet for $279Save $100 when you activateSave $100 for a new line activationUpgrade your phone at the same time and Save another $100If you open a new line instead of upgrading then its Save $200I understand this is probably not for everyone but its a pretty good deal if you do contracts always.

 

[brazuka331]

If you get your phone with a contract like most people you can walk away with this tablet for $279Save $100 when you activateSave $100 for a new line activationUpgrade your phone at the same time and Save another $100If you open a new line instead of upgrading then its Save $200I understand this is probably not for everyone but its a pretty good deal if you do contracts always.

 

[godfather666]

Wait. So there's a $229 price premium for LTE? Is Microsoft really that out of touch with reality? Pile this one up on the flop train.

It's more of a $130 because this is the 64GB version, which normally costs $549

 

[red77star]

Microsoft is being delusional.

 

[Osmin]

Get 200MB LTE service per month from T-Mobile for free, for those that pay the higher cost of the iPad or iPad mini with LTE. I know the AT&T version is unlocked and works with T-Mobile without issues. Better to call online phone number and verify plan than visit a store that will tell you that you need to have an existing T-Mobile plan. You just need their pre-paid plan and they will not even ask for a credit card during self registration. They used to give the sim card for free but now you must pay $10.

 

[RedJaron]

Kevin, it would be helpful to state in the article that this is the 64GB Surface 2, not the 32GB one. That makes the price a little more understandable ( an extra $130 for LTE and the Skype and OneDrive extras is too bad. )

 

[rwinches]

Oh Please, Windows RT = Windows ME the bastard child.