If you’re thinking about pre-ordering Surface Go, make sure you shop around for deals. Here are two of interest to customers in the U.S.
As I’m sure most readers know, Microsoft announced Surface Go a bit earlier than planned on July 9 and then made the device available for pre-order the next day (on schedule). The product becomes officially available on August 2, about a week and a half from now.
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Though a third configuration was rumored, and a separate LTE configuration will arrive later this year, Microsoft only offered two configurations of this new tablet PC: A version with 4 GB of RAM and 32 GB of eMMC storage for $399 and a more compelling version with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of (much) faster SSD-based storage for $550.
I strongly recommend choosing the higher-end configuration. And while that advice still stands, two deals have emerged that may alter your buying plans. Assuming, that is, you live in the United States.
First up, if you pre-order either Surface Go configuration from Best Buy, you will get a $50 gift certificate from that retailer. This is obviously useful for those who frequent Best Buy. But if you don’t, you might consider holding off on the necessary Type Cover purchase and then applying the gift certificate to that purchase when you get. This will lower the price of the Type Cover from $99 to $49 (or the price of the Signature Type Cover from $129 to $79).
Second, some sites were reporting that Costco was offering a unique and previously unknown Surface Go configuration with 4 GB of RAM and 128 GB of (presumably SSD-based) storage, and with a bundled Type Cover. But Brad, Mehedi, and I figured this was a misprint, and sure enough, I just see the two normal Surface Go configurations when I view the site now. (And even if this thing does exist, you don’t want a Surface Go with just 4 GB of RAM.)
Update: The 4 GB/128 GB bundle apparently does exist. It costs $549 and is for Costco members only, of course. –Paul
If you can choose between Costco and Best Buy (you need a membership for the former), I recommend going with Costco.