Microsoft’s Surface Costs $229 More Than Its Parts

The electronic wizards over at IHS iSuppli have stripped Microsoft’s Surface and discovered a secret and rare ingredient: a healthy profit margin.

In the US, Microsoft’s introductory Surface tablet has a $500 price tag and that’ before you bundle a cool Touch Cover with it. With the Touch Cover, it’s nudging $600. But according to IHS, a Surface tablet without the cover has a $271 build of material price, (throw in the touch cover and that price goes up by $16). In fact, Ubergizmo suggest the Surface is even “more profitable than the iPad, not counting marketing and R&D costs.”

In comparison, the Asus-made Nexus 7 has a profit margin of just $15.

But Microsoft is playing to the beat of its own drum. Whereas Google is interested in putting its services in the palms of people’s hands, mainly by providing cheap Nexus tablets, Nexus smartphones and Google Chromebooks, Microsoft wants to project a premium experience with the Surface tablet.

The Surface is the only computing device developed by Microsoft in its long history, and now with the touch-friendly Windows 8 operating system, Microsoft is implying its tablet-meets-notebook is the best way to experience the world’s most commonly used computer software.

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