Surface Pro nears arrival in Australia

Microsoft has finally given an indication of when its Surface Pro tablet will arrive in Australia, three months after the device’s initial launch.

The Surface Pro will touch down “before the end of May”. The company did not give a specific date for arrival, or pricing and retail availability details. 

The Windows 8 tablet sells for US$899 ($A862) for the 64GB model and $US999 (A$968) for the 128GB model in the US. 

The device debuted to the US, Canada and China in late January. Alongside Australia, 18 other countries will receive Surface Pro before the end of May, with another five countries tor receive it before the end of June. 

The Surface Pro is the second in Microsoft’s new home-grown tablet family, following the October launch of the ARM-based, Windows RT-running Surface RT. Australia was one of several countries to get the Surface RT on release day. 

The Surface Pro is aimed at business users via its Intel x86-based Core i5 chip and full Windows 8 OS. It also offers a stylus, 4GB RAM, USB 3.0, microSDXC slot, 1920×1080 full HD resolution, Mini DisplayPort, two 720p cameras and a two-year hardware warranty.

The tablet can be purchased with two keypad/ cover accessories; a Touch Cover for $139.99 and a Type Cover for $149.99. Both offer protection for the tablet when folded up, and when folded down, serve as keypads  — the Touch Cover’s pad is touch-sensitive while the Type Cover offers tactile raised keys. 

Microsoft said in a blog post it had experienced stock issues with the 128GB Surface Pro in the US and Canada, and had wanted to ensure it had the volume of devices in place before making announcements about further regional availability.