Surface shipping delays irk some customers in Canada, Europe

According to Microsoft, the shipping delay for online Surface orders won't affect retail availability.

Microsoft Surface with Windows RT customers in Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany are crying foul over further shipping delays of devices that were pre-ordered. Some will have to wait until November to get the popular tablet, reports say.

PCWorld had already reported that new orders for the $499 model of the device face a shipping delay of up to three weeks. But now some people in Canada and the U.K. and Germany are saying theyve received emails that say their tablets will be shipping on Nov. 2, instead of the original promised date of Oct. 26 when they pre-ordered the device.

Got an email from @microsoftcanada saying my @surface tablet has been delayed to Nov 2nd. No reason given. That is SO not cool, tweeted someone from Ottawa.

@surface I will not be in the country on the 2 Nov. I needed my Surface RT before the 31 OCT! WHY!?!, tweeted another person from London.

If you want the Surface tablet sooner rather than later you can get one next week if youre lucky enough to be located near one of 65 physical stores in 27 states, Canada and Puerto Rico.

According to Microsoft, the shipping delay for online Surface orders won't affect retail availability. On Oct. 26, all Microsoft Stores -- including pop-up holiday locations--will have all three Surface with Windows RT models available for purchase.

Image: Courtesy of WPCentral Not only that, your local Microsoft Store may have a stash of secret vouchers that let you jump the line for the tablet on launch day.

Called a Surface reservation pass, they guarantee you the ability to buy a Surface in-store if you show up before noon on Oct. 26 at the Microsoft Store location where you received the voucher. To get one youll have to talk to the store manager, although some of the customer representatives PCWorld talked with said they didnt know any specific details about the vouchers, while others said they couldnt even confirm the Surface reservation pass existed.

One Microsoft Store representative said the certificates should not have become public knowledge. This representative then said that the vouchers were handed out at the managers discretion.

The $499 Surface, with 32GB of storage, doesn't include Microsoft's Touch Cover , a touch-sensitive keyboard and trackpad that doubles as a screen protector. Both the $599 (32GB) and $699 (64GB) Surface models come with a black Touch Cover, and if you want a Type Cover with a mechanical keyboard it is sold separately for $130.

Follow Christina on Twitter andGoogle+ for even more tech news and commentary and follow Today@PCWorld on Twitter, too.

Join the newsletter!

Or

Sign up to gain exclusive access to email subscriptions, event invitations, competitions, giveaways, and much more.

Membership is free, and your security and privacy remain protected. View our privacy policy before signing up.

Error: Please check your email address.

Tags Microsofttabletshardware systems

Keep up with the latest tech news, reviews and previews by subscribing to the Good Gear Guide newsletter.

Christina DesMarais

PC World (US online)
Show Comments

Most Popular Reviews

Latest Articles

Resources

PCW Evaluation Team

Cate Bacon

Aruba Instant On AP11D

The strength of the Aruba Instant On AP11D is that the design and feature set support the modern, flexible, and mobile way of working.

Dr Prabigya Shiwakoti

Aruba Instant On AP11D

Aruba backs the AP11D up with a two-year warranty and 24/7 phone support.

Tom Pope

Dynabook Portégé X30L-G

Ultimately this laptop has achieved everything I would hope for in a laptop for work, while fitting that into a form factor and weight that is remarkable.

Tom Sellers

MSI P65

This smart laptop was enjoyable to use and great to work on – creating content was super simple.

Lolita Wang

MSI GT76

It really doesn’t get more “gaming laptop” than this.

Featured Content

Product Launch Showcase

Don’t have an account? Sign up here

Don't have an account? Sign up now

Forgot password?