Microsoft's $900 Surface Pro Coming February 9

Microsoft has announced its Surface Pro tablet computer will be available for purchase in the United States and Canada starting Saturday, February 9, 2013.

The Surface Pro is an enhanced version of the standard Surface tablet PC that Microsoft released late in 2012. The original Surface, called the Surface RT, runs Windows RT, a trimmed-down version of Windows 8.

Priced at $499 (and up), the Surface RT's hardware specifications include 16GB or 32GB of main storage, 2GB of RAM, and an ARM-architecture processor.

Surface Pro: Core i5 CPU, Windows 8 Pro

The Surface Pro, by contrast, includes the full Windows 8 Pro operating system, along with 64GB or 128GB of main storage, 4GB of RAM, and a comparatively powerful Intel Core i5 processor.

The Surface Pro is far more expensive, however. The 64GB version will cost $899, while the 128GB version will be priced closer to $1,000. (Source: pcworld.com)

Useful accessories, such as the Touch Cover and Type Cover keyboards (available in red, magenta, and cyan), will cost an additional $120 and $130, respectively. There's also a Wedge Touch Mouse that features "four-way" scrolling. It will cost $70.

The Surface Pro will be available only in selected electronics stores. Interested consumers will have to visit Staples, Best Buy, or Microsoft retail stores, or their website counterparts, to purchase the device.

Microsoft to Ship 2.5M Units: Analysts

Although sales of the Surface RT have been relatively slow (only about 1 million units shipped since the device's October 2012 launch), Microsoft is clearly excited about the release of the much more powerful Surface Pro.

In a recent blog post, Microsoft Surface General Manager Panos Panay said the device is a "powerful, work-ready device that is just at home in the boardroom as it is the family room." (Source: usatoday.com)

Industry experts believe the Surface Pro will be roughly as popular as its less powerful predecessor. In a recent report, analyst firm UBS predicted Microsoft will ship 2.5 million Surface Pros in fiscal 2013. (Source: tgdaily.com)