Microsoft launches special Chinese version of Surface Pro aimed at home users Microsoft launched the Surface Pro in China on Tuesday -- and with it, a special version including a copy of Office Home & Student 2013

Microsoft
is hoping to build momentum
behind its Surface Pro tablet
in China by launching a
special edition including
Office Home & Student 2013
-- but with Windows 8
Standard, rather than
Windows 8 Pro.
Microsoft's Surface Pro 128
GB version goes on sale in
the country this Tuesday. But
along with it, the U.S. tech
giant is also releasing an
exclusive "Surface China
Edition," with an x86
processor like its Pro cousin,
the company announced.
Unlike the Surface Pro tablet,
the China Edition comes with
the standard Windows 8 OS
rather than the Professional
version. In addition, it only
supports the simplified
Chinese language. But the
tablet also contains Office
Home & Student 2013, a
product suite Microsoft
excluded from its Surface Pro
tablet in favor for a one-
month trial of Office 365
Home Premium.
The Surface China Edition will
be available in 64 GB and
128 GB versions for 6588
yuan (US$1050) and 7388
yuan (US$1178), respectively.
The Surface Pro will be priced
at 7388 yuan.
Tuesday's launch marks the
first time Microsoft has
released its Surface Pro tablet
outside North America.
The company's previous
tablet, the Arm-based Surface
RT, also arrived in China back
in October, attracting a long
line at a Beijing electronics
store.
Despite the initial fanfare,
Surface RT's sales have been
weak in the country, with
shipments only reaching
90,000 units in last year's
fourth quarter, according to
research firm IDC. Microsoft's
reliance on using only one
local reseller to distribute the
tablet has been cited as one
reason for the low demand.
For this new launch, however,
the U.S. company has
expanded its product
distribution by signing up
eight additional vendors,
including e-commerce
retailers and other electronic
store chains in China. The
bigger presence in retail
channels will probably help
Microsoft increase sales of its
Surface Pro tablet, said Kitty
Fok, an analyst with IDC.
"If you were to ask if they will
become the number one
tablet brand in China that's
difficult to say," she said.
"There's a lot of competition
in China, with other vendors
that sell at different pricing."
In last year's fourth quarter,
Apple had a 62 percent share
of China's tablet market,
according to IDC. In second
place with a 14 percent
market share was Lenovo,
which has been selling
Android tablets in the country
for as little as $175.
But given the Surface Pro's
features, Microsoft's newest
tablet will appeal to
enterprise users, Fok said.
The Surface China Edition and
its inclusion of Office could
also attract Chinese
consumers wanting a tablet
with productivity features.
"To me, the China Edition
shows that Microsoft is
committed to the Chinese
market," she added.