Microsoft has announced the upcoming release of the Surface Pro tablet in Australia. The business- and power-user-friendly Windows 8 Pro tablet will be released on Microsoft's Surface online store and through Microsoft's retail partners "before the end of May".
• Read our exclusive Australian review of the Surface Pro
• January 2013: Why no Surface Pro announcement for Australia is doubly annoying
• February 2013: Microsoft Surface Pro engineers hint at future plans on Reddit
• March 2013: Surface Pro is coming to Australia, we just don’t know exactly when
A post on Microsoft's Surface Blog has all the information available at the moment.
"We know it took us a while to get back to you, but we hear you, and are excited to be able to provide an update on the countries where Surface RT and Surface Pro will be launching in May and June.
"Surface Pro will launch before the end of May in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom."
The post also notes that the company, which is new to the PC hardware manufacturing game, has struggled to keep up with demand for the US$100 more expensive 128GB variant: "one of our biggest challenges has been keeping our 128GB Surface Pro in stock. We’ve worked hard to increase availability." The cheaper 64GB model has been consistently available in the US since the Surface Pro's launch in January of this year.
The Surface Pro will likely be available through the same retail channels as the Surface RT —: Microsoft's online store, and through retail partners JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman. Pricing for the tablet has not been confirmed, with a Microsoft spokesperson telling PC World "we’ll let you know the exact Australian availability date and pricing in due course."
