Microsoft Surface Pro to be released in UK "soon"

Microsoft has promised PC buyers that its hotly anticipated Surface Pro tablet will be available to buy in the UK soon, but stopped short of confirming a final release or pre-order date.

Despite announcing the US release date and pricing for the device last month, the software giant has remained tight-lipped about when UK business users will be able to get their hands on one.

The tablet will be powered by an Intel Core i5 processor, and is available as a 64GB or 128GB model.

Unlike the Surface RT, whose release coincided with the worldwide rollout of Windows 8 in October, the Surface Pro will be able to run Windows 7 and 8 desktop applications.

Microsoft made the announcement in a post on its Surface blog earlier today, where it listed the second phase of countries where Surface RT will be rolled out next. They include Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore and Taiwan.

The post also states the Surface Pro will be launching in the UK, as well as Australia, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, and New Zealand "in the coming months".

It also shed some light on some of the supply challenges Microsoft has faced while trying to push out its own-brand hardware to multiple geographies.

"We are focused on meeting demand in current markets for Surface Pro and are working super hard to get new inventory into retail but recognise demand exists in other countries as well," the post stated.

"We are committed to working with our retail partners to ensure we are delivering a great experience in the above mentioned countries for our customers."

The software giant's radio silence over the UK release of the Surface Pro has reportedly been a regular source of frustration for IT directors, with industry watchers claiming many have held off buying other brands of Windows 8 tablets until firm details about when it will drop has been announced.

Even so, Microsoft's announcement is likely to further frustrate, rather than soothe, them.

Updated: The Surface Pro has been crowned the least repairable tablet by tech site iFixit, who earlier this month gave the device a repairability score of one out of ten.

The IT repair site ranked a number of devices based on how easy they are to take apart and replace their components, with Microsoft's RT device bagging a score of four out of ten.

Microsoft's arch-rival Apple didn't fare much better, with several versions of the iPad scoring two out of ten, because of the build quality of their touchscreens.

Meanwhile, tablets from the likes of Samsung and Amazon scored higher, while the Dell XPS 10 bagged the top score overall with a repairability score of nine out of ten.

*This story was originally published on 28 February.