Asus Vivo Tab RT pre-sales begin, first Windows RT tablet starts at $599.99
We were warned that Windows RT tablets wouldn't be cheap, and those warnings have now been confirmed. The Asus Vivo Tab RT, formerly known as the Tablet 600, is now available for pre-order for $599.99 …
Context & Ripple Effects
The Vivo Tab RT has been on a predictable path since ASUS showed off the Vivo Tab and Vivo Tab RT tablets in late August: an ARM-based Windows device positioned alongside its x86 sibling. In mid-September, analysts flagged that Asus Windows 8 tablet pricing was coming in high with demand likely low, and back in August Lenovo had argued RT tablets could land up to $300 cheaper than their Windows 8 counterparts.
Today's $599.99 pre-order price settles the question in the opposite direction from Lenovo's forecast — the first Windows RT tablet enters the market at full premium-tablet pricing, directly against the iPad and against ASUS's own Intel-based Vivo Tab. The story travelled widely, picked up by CNET, Computerworld, SlashGear and others within a day.
First-order effects
- Buyers choosing between the $599.99 Vivo Tab RT and ASUS's own Windows 8 Vivo Tab face a price gap far narrower than Lenovo's projected $300 spread, forcing the decision onto app compatibility rather than cost.
- ASUS becomes the first OEM to put a hard retail number on Windows RT, setting the public price anchor Microsoft and every other RT licensee will be measured against.
Second-order effects
- Rival licensees including Lenovo must either match a near-iPad price with a thinner app ecosystem or undercut sharply, straining the margins they had assumed for the category.
- Microsoft's own Surface RT pricing now sits under direct pressure: if first-party hardware lands near $599.99, partner tablets lose their last differentiation lever.
Third-order effects
- If RT devices sell at premium prices without legacy Windows software, OEMs may conclude the ARM variant only works as a low-cost SKU — pushing Windows on ARM toward budget hardware or out of the lineup entirely.
- A weak RT debut would concentrate Windows tablet volume in x86 machines, reinforcing Intel's position in the touch-device market Microsoft built RT to escape.
The trend: Windows RT's launch is testing whether ARM-based Windows can command iPad-class prices, or whether it collapses into a discount tier that undermines the premium Windows 8 tablets sold beside it.