Surface to hit Aussie shores

The long-awaited pricing details for Microsoft's home-grown Surface tablet have been revealed, with a limited amount of the Windows RT variety available locally for pre-order from this morning.

The Surface RT can be pre-ordered from Microsoft's website now for arrival before November 6.

The Surface RT will initially be available for $559 for the 32GB model outright. It will also be available bundled with the black Touch Cover accessory at $679 for the 32GB model, and $789 for a 64GB model.

US pricing for the three models is $US499 ($486), $US599 ($583), and $US699 ($681) respectively.

The Touch Cover can also be purchased as an additional accessory for $139.99. A Type Cover is also available for $149.99. When folded up, both offer protection for the tablet. When folded down, both serve as keypads - the Touch Cover offers a touch-sensitive keypad while the Type Cover's keys are tactile.

The Touch Cover is available in black, white red, blue and magenta.

The Surface RT will hit retail shelves on October 26, coinciding with the launch of Microsoft's next-generation operating system Windows 8.

The Surface tablet comes in two varieties - the Surface RT based on an ARM chipset running a hobbled version of Windows 8, dubbed Windows RT, and the Intel-based fully-fledged Windows 8 model.

Microsoft is yet to announce pricing or availability for the Intel 'Surface Pro' model. It is expected to touch down in January next year.

Both tablets will come in a magnesium-based case with an integrated kickstand at varying thicknesses; the ARM variant measures at 9.3mm compared to the Intel-based tablet at 13.5mm. The Intel model is also much heavier at 903 grams as opposed to the ARM one, which weighs 676 grams.