Microsoft Surface: Top 5 Rivals Ready to Challenge the New Windows 8 Tablet

Back in June Microsoft created shocking waves in the tech industry entering the tech consumer market with the launch of Surface tablet running on the software giant's latest Windows 8 and Windows RT OS. Now, Microsoft has announced that the new Surface tablet is going to hit the market on October 26, alongside Windows 8 launch at the special Surface Reception event.

Also, the official Microsoft website has made the tablet available for pre order in countries including Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and the United States. The pricing has also been released, but only for the Wi-Fi version of Surface, while it will not support 3G or 4G capability.

The 64GB Surface tablet with the black Touch Cover which also doubles up as as Keyboard will cost $699 (approx. Rs 37,000). The 32 GB version will cost $599 (approx. Rs 31,000) with the Touch Cover and $499 (approx. Rs 26,300) without the Touch Cover.

While, India is still not on the list, but analysts believe that the tablet will reach the Indian shores by the end of this year. According to a recent report by different sources, Microsoft has ordered for 3 to 5 million units of Surface tablets from the Asian component manufacturers, hinting that the company is expecting so many units to be sold soon after its release.

Talking about specs, Microsoft Surface tablets will come in two models – a budget friendly version featuring Windows RT operating system and running on ARM chipset and other priced similar to the Ultrabooks featuring Windows 8 Pro OS and based on Ivy Bridge processors.

As far as the other specs are concerned the tablet will come equipped with a 10.6 inch ClearType high definition display with 1366 x 768 pixel resolution, Nvidia T30 processor, 2GB RAM, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, two 720p cameras, micro SD card slot and USB 2.0 support. The Windows RT version will come in 32 GB and 64 GB versions while the Windows 8 Pro version will come in 64 GB and 128 GB versions.

It is widespread that Surface will compete directly with Apple New iPad and also the 7-inch tablet category including Android based Google Nexus and Amazon Kindle Fires. But, how does the Surface stack up against the Windows 8 tablets from other vendors, who have already marked their presence in the market?

Lets take a look at the specs of the highly anticipated tablets to be launched around the same time, as Microsoft Surface and analyze how will they pose a big threat to the offspring.