Microsoft tablet Surface to start at $499

The Surface's prices are in line with the iPad, which begins at $499 but with less memory.
Microsoft said Tuesday its new Surface tablet computer—designed to challenge Apple's iPad—will be sold at roughly the same price as the market leader.

Microsoft says its first tablet computer, the Surface, will start at $499 when it goes on sale Oct. 26.

The price matches that of Apple Inc.'s , the most popular , but the base model of the Surface has twice as much storage memory: 32 gigabytes.

The signature hardware feature of the tablet, a cover that doubles as a keyboard, will cost another $100.

The launch of the Surface is an unusual move for Microsoft, which usually sells software to computer makers instead of making computers itself. It coincides with the launch of Windows 8, a version of the operating system that's designed to work better on touch-screen computers and tablets.

The first version of the Surface doesn't have a regular Intel-style PC processor and won't run PC software.

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