Microsoft Australia claims Windows RT devices cost up to $1,000

Shocked? You're not the only one. As Long Zheng noted, Microsoft Australia is running a competition during the Australian version of TechEd (TechEd Australia), where 50 winners will each receive a Windows RT device. The competition itself seems pretty straight forward, until you notice that Microsoft Australia is claiming that these devices could be worth as much as $1,000 apiece.

Now, to be fair they don't specifically say what brand or model the devices will be, or what their exact retail values are. What they do say is:

Simply be one of the first 50 Developers who attend AppFest & TechEd to build and register 3 apps for Windows 8 by 1 October 2012, have them approved and published by October 26, to get a Windows 8 RT device to the value of AUD $1,000.

One could interpret that as meaning the devices will be worth $1,000 each, or that the prizes will be devices of up to that value as a maximum. The latter is likely the case here, but as Microsoft still hasn't provided details on the pricing of its Surface RT device, so at this stage anything is possible.

With that being said, Microsoft has stated that the pricing of their Windows RT device will be competitive with existing tablets of similar specifications, which casts a lot of doubt on Microsoft Australia's $1,000 claim. If we had to bet money on it, we'd bet that you'd be able to get two Microsoft Surface RT devices for that kind of money.

Note: At the time of publishing, 1,000 Australian Dollars is equal 1,035.84 US Dollars.

Source: istartedsomething