Some Windows 8.1 powered tablets cut in price at the online and physical Microsoft Stores

Microsoft has been taking a scissor to some of the price tags of the Windows powered tablets it is offering online and in its bricks and mortar stores. Some of the deals will expire after Sunday. For example the 32GB Dell Venue 8 Pro, an 8 incher powered by an Intel Atom Z3740D processor, has been reduced to $229 from $299. That's as low as Microsoft goes with the sale.

For $249, you can pick up either the 32GB Lenovo Miix 2 8 (normally $299) or the 32GB Toshiba Encore WT8-A32M (regularly $329). Like the Dell Venue 8 Pro, both of these models feature an 8 inch screen and an Intel Atom Z3740. The latter chip has a single-channel memory controller as opposed to the dual-channels on the Z3740D, which means that the Dell slate can support a higher resolution screen. But all of the 8 inch tablets in Microsoft's stores have a resolution of 1280 x 800. And all of the tablets feature a USB port, 2GB of RAM and are pre-loaded with Microsoft Office Home & Student 2013.

There are some differences. The Dell and Lenovo models support 10 finger multi-touch displays while the Toshiba has a 5 finger multi-touch screen. If
battery life is important to you, the Lenovo tablet will give you 10 hours of it. The Toshiba model has the shortest battery life at 7 hours, but does have an 8MP snapper on back as opposed to the 5MP camera on the other two. Your choice of which one to purchase will depend on the features that are important to you.

If you have a higher budget, the 64GB model of the Dell Venue 8 Pro will run you $299, a $50 haircut from the usual $349 that it is priced at. Or, you can jump all the way to the large-screened tablets. The 64GB Dell 64GB Venue 11 Pro features a 10.8 inch screen and is priced at $499. That works out to a $50 discount. Or, you can save a whopping $201 on the 64GB Samsung ATIV Tab 3, which offers a 10.1 inch display. That slate is priced at $499, down from $700.

Microsoft says that it has limited quantities of the Dell Venue 8 Pro, so if you're interested in that particular tablet, you might want to keep that in mind.


source: MicrosoftStore, InformationWeek via PCMag