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The Microsoft Surface RT lands in New Zealand at JB HI-Fi and Harvey Norman for $739 on March 15.

Microsoft New Zealand Managing Director, Paul Muckleston says “We are excited to offer Kiwis a chance to experience this new category of devices that bring together entertainment and personal productivity into a beautifully designed, highly mobile form factor”. He went on to say “The Surface has been in hot demand overseas, and we are one of only a handful of countries where both the Surface RT and Surface Pro will be available within the coming months.”

The exact date for release of the Surface Pro is yet to be announced. “We’re excited that Microsoft is launching the Surface through our retail stores – we know that customers will love the chance to get hands on and experience the device firsthand,” says Paul White, General Manager Harvey Norman New Zealand.

“It’s great to have Surface as part of our Windows 8 line up. It’s an excellent showcase of the possibilities of Windows 8,” adds Daryn Rickwood, General Manager JB Hi-Fi New Zealand.

Surface is an extension of the Windows experience, letting customers work, play and connect with the people who matter to them. Surface lets customers transition between entertainment and creation.

It offers an ultralight durable casing and an integrated kickstand and cover that allow customers to be productive anywhere, as well as a full-sized USB port and microSD card slot for adding additional storage and a 16:9 widescreen high-definition display that makes it optimal for viewing and sharing content easily.

International release

Microsoft has also announced the these following countries will also get the Microsoft Surface RT:

  • Japan
  • Mexico
  • Russia
  • Singapore
  • Taiwan

And the Surface Pro is being released in over the coming months in New Zealand and:

  • Australia
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • Hong Kong
  • United Kingdom

Indications are the Surface Pro will start arriving in some of the above countries as soon as late March .

I recently reviewed the Surface RT for PC World.

Surface RT bundles

The $739 price will be for a bare 32GB Microsoft Surface RT device.

Other options:

  • Surface RT 32GB with black Touch Cover: $899
  • Surface RT 64GB: $899
  • Surface RT 64GB with black Touch Cover: $1049
  • Touch Cover: (tbc)
  • Type Cover: (tbc)

I first spent time with the Surface RT immediately following it’s US launch – you can hear those first experiences on the NZ Tech Podcast episode 95. First hands on with the Surface Pro can be heard on NZ Tech Podcast episode 113.

Surface 2 with 4G LTE mobile broadband

There’s no word yet when 3G or 4G LTE capabilities will be added to the Surface family – however it seems likely that will come with version 2 devices. The release of Intel’s next wave of low power processors (based on Haswell architecture) begins June 2 so it’s possible the second half or 2013 will yield a Surface Pro 2 with mobile broadband.