After early rumors suggested Microsoft's Surface tablet would aim for a higher price point than Apple's iPad, news today indicates just the opposite. According to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, the company is ready to take on Apple and the iPad with competitive pricing for its new Surface tablet device.

Microsoft hasn't been very forthcoming about what it plans to charge customers for its soon-to-be-released Surface tablet, but Ballmer told the Seattle Times that the device will be priced to specifically compete with Apple's iPad rather than with low-cost tablets such as the Kindle Fire HD or the Google Nexus 7. Ballmer said he expected various Surface models to sell from "probably $300 to about $700 or $800″ depending on whether they're equipped with Windows RT or Windows 8 Pro.

Ballmer also made clear that Microsoft has no interest in getting into a price war with Amazon or Google by offering low-cost 7-inch Surface tablets because he wants people to see the Surface as a professional device that can be used for work as well as media consumption.

"If you say to somebody, would you use one of the 7-inch tablets, would somebody ever use a Kindle to do their homework?" Ballmer asked rhetorically. "The answer is no; you never would. It's just not a good enough product. It doesn't mean you might not read a book on it."

Ballmer's statements confirm earlier whispers of the Surface's two-tiered pricing, with the more expensive Windows 8 Pro-based tablet likely selling for around $800. The new price point is certainly competitive against Apple, but we have to wonder if Microsoft's Surface will be able to compete when it comes to the device's over-all functionality. Will it integrate apps into your book/magazine reading experience like Apple and Kindle? Will it even have a comparable app store?

It's only natural Microsoft is trying to create buzz for the Surface with an iPad competitive price. The company clearly wants to position the Surface Tablet as a revolutionary product in the tablet market, and the only way to do that is to take on Goliath. Of course, that positioning has a lot to do with the Surface's ties to Windows 8, which is being released simultaneously.

Windows 8, similar to Windows Phone 7, comes with a totally new interface, called Metro UI. Microsoft first introduced Metro in its Windows Phone 7. Later, advanced versions of the interface appeared in Windows Phone 7.5 and the newest Windows Phone 8. Indeed, the tile-based interface will add much grandeur to the look and feel of the Surface tablets.

Microsoft Surface features

Both models sport 10.6-inch Clear type Full HD displays with 16:9 widescreen. That means they are among the biggest tablets in the market. If you are not satisfied with the typical 10.1-inch tablet, you can go for the Surface tablet. Along with the touch keyboards with the device, you can turn the machine to a small notebook.

The Surface tablet comes with five Touch Covers. Well, you can pick up any one while purchasing the machine. Different from typical keyboards, the Surface keypads provide brilliant typing experience thanks to their touch-based surface.

The Surface tablets mount both front and rear cameras. The front camera, named life cam by Microsoft, makes the tablet perfect for video chatting through Skype or other services. Using the rear camera, you can capture images and video clips.

Microsoft puts forward better memory options with the Surface tablets. The device comes in 32GB, 64GB and 128GB options. The 128GB is available only with Surface Pro. Further, you can expand the memory using external memory sticks thanks to microSD card slot. That is, you can store enough data including music, software items and video in external clips.

The 3mm Touch Cover features a revolutionary kickstand. Along with fully functioning keyboard and track-pad, the integrated kickstand helps you place the gadget in both portrait or landscape modes. The Touch Cover can be connected to your Surface tablet with a single magnetic click. Now you can easily type text and send messages quite easily.

The tablet is being toted as an "all-in-one" tablet.

CEO Ballmer said last month that Microsoft's new tablet could sully relationships with PC manufactures like Asus, Acer, and Dell, but Ballmer expects to sell millions of tablets after the Surface's debut in October.

Microsoft gave consumers a first glimpse of the Surface back in June, when it revealed that the tablet would run on the Windows 8 operating system. According to Bloomberg Surface will only be able to go online using a short-range Wi-Fi connection. This is a stark contrast to Apple's iPad 3, which has a 3G option, and a faster LTE connection.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Ben Bajarin, an analyst at technology consulting firm Creative Strategies, said that the Wi-Fi-only status could clash with Microsoft's marketing attempts. "The way that Microsoft is positioning this product - that it's highly mobile but also has the functionality of a notebook - that customer might be more interested in working from any location and not being bound by Wi-Fi," he said.

Early August saw further rumors surrounding Microsoft's tablet ventures. This time, the rumors weren't so focused on the Surface but on its successor. A job advertisement posted in Microsoft's careers section suggested the company is already working on the follow-up to the Surface.

"We are currently building the next generation of devices and Surface needs you! The Surface development team is seeking a talented senior engineer to work on our next generation Surface. You will be responsible for overall system design and system bring-up/ enablement. You will be a critical member of a team that includes firmware, electrical, software, design validation and mechanical engineers; together, you will bring next generation Surface to life."

Media tablets powered by new Microsoft operating systems Windows 8 and Windows RT will have an impact on the overall market - just not this year, according to market intelligence firm ABI Research.

Windows-based tablets will commence shipments at the end of October and capture an estimated 1.5% of total tablet shipments for 2012. Pricing for Windows tablets will be a key consideration for end-user adoption. If priced aggressively towards current Android tablets, Windows tablets could see 2013 shipments increase 10-fold year-over-year. But if they're priced like Apple's iPad offerings, Windows tablets may only double or triple shipments in 2013. Growth in the total available market is expected to come from businesses adopting tablets, which is expected to be a strong area for Windows 8.