Microsoft’s new Surface tablet is all over the news today. Google it – you don’t need a link from me. Apparently it is going to be available in October. That will be 2 1/2 years after the introduction of the iPad.

I can see it fitting into the corporate market – it will just be another laptop type device that will have all the standard security and device management features an IT manager craves. It will aslo fit nicely with Lync – the Microsoft Unified communications product. Also note that they haven’t delivered it yet.

I would imagine however that it won’t be that attractive in the consumer market. Sounds expensive and high end – the iPad already does that.  It needs to be cheap and it doesn’t sound cheap.

I would like more tablets scattered around the house but they need to be down at the £100 level.

I get the feeling that it could be quite a crunch time for Microsoft this Christmas. Will the ability to throw a seemingly endless pot of cash at it make the difference?

What do you think?