Microsoft Surface Pro Release Date and Cost: Italy and Switzerland Price Confirmed; How It Fares Compared to US Prices?

The Microsoft Surface tablet with Windows 8 Pro continues to make its way across Europe.

Microsoft announced last month that May will be a month where the Surface with Windows 8 Pro would see a large launch across the European continent, and after the U.K. dates and prices were revealed, it is now Italy and Switzerland confirming their arrivals.

Italy will see the Surface with Windows 8 Pro tablet starting May 30 with retailers Euronics, Expert, Media World, Saturn, and Unieuro selling the device along with MicrosoftStore.com.

As for prices, the suggested retail price is €899 for the 64GB variant while the 128GB model will cost €999. The Italian prices are significantly higher than the U.S. prices, which when converted to the U.S. dollar is $1,155 for the 64GB model and $1,283 for the 128GB model. The original U.S. prices for the Surface with Windows 8 Pro are $899 and $999 for the 64GB and 128GB tablets, respectively.

The Swiss will also see the Surface with Windows 8 Pro on May 30 across retailers Fust, Interdiscount, Media Markt, and Microsoft's online store.

The price for the 64GB tablet in Switzerland will be CHF 959 and CHF 1,059 for the 128GB model. When converted to the U.S. dollar, the tablets' costs are $988 and $1,091 for the 64GB and 128GB models, respectively.

The launch in Italy and Switzerland comes a week after the U.K. will start selling the Surface with Windows 8 Pro. Starting May 23, the estimated retail cost for the 64GB tablet will be £719 while the 128GB tablet will run £799.

As Latinos Post reported, the International Data Corporation (IDC) stated Microsoft shipped 900,000 units of the Surface tablet. The unit figures equate to 1.8 percent of the first-quarter market share for 2013. The percentage represents both Surface with Windows RT and Surface with Windows 8 Pro tablets, however, IDC noted most of the shipments were of the latter.