Microsoft expects that consumers could see a seven inch tablet running on Windows 8.1 in stores priced as low as $99 this fall, along with notebooks as cheap as $199.
The company's chief operating officer Kevin Turner made those claims today as part of his section of Microsoft's 2014 Worldwide Partner Conference keynote address. His statement would seem to confirm a report back in June, when a Chinese OEM claimed that it would release an eight-inch Windows 8.1 tablet later this year that would cost $100. Microsoft announced during BUILD that it would ditch its manufacturer royalty fee to OEMs for devices smaller than nine inches.
Turner said that there are Windows 8.1 notebooks priced as low as $249 that compete with the budget priced Chromebooks from Google. They include the Acer Aspire ES1, which is already out, and an 11.6-inch Toshiba notebook that will be released in time for the holiday shopping season. Turner also showed off an upcoming $199 Windows 8.1 notebook from HP, the Stream, during the keynote address.
What do you think about these cheap Windows 8.1 devices that are due out later this year?
Source: Microsoft
