With the upcoming release of the Windows Surface tablet and various sources making predictions on what this will mean for the tablet market, financial analysts predict that, at the end of the day, how the Surface performs in the market will come down to a question of pricing.

So far, the tablet market has been dominated by Apple (News - Alert) and Android devices, but Windows’s decision to enter the hardware market has many possible implications for the future of the tablet market.

The new Microsoft (News - Alert) tablet will be powered by Windows 8 and Windows RT. With an October release, it is estimated that it will capture a modest 1.5 percent of total tablet shipments made in 2012, but, according to ABI Research, it could have a ten-fold increase in 2013, if it is priced correctly. ABI asserts that if the Surface is in a similar price point as the iPad, it will only see a two or three-fold increase.

According to enterprise mobility practice director Dan Shey (News - Alert), “Neither of the leading tablet OS platforms has squarely addressed the needs of IT organizations and business users. Flawless execution by Microsoft on its Windows 8 Pro enterprise strategy for tablets could catapult it into a mobile computing leadership position.”

No matter how Microsoft decides to price its tablet, its move from software to hardware will, undoubtedly, revolutionize the technology market as it integrates its already strong software with hardware offerings. This change is one that has caused more than a little concern for hardware companies, who see Microsoft’s change as threatening and potentially disruptive. Acer (News - Alert) chief executive, J.T. Wang, is among the people who find themselves threatened by Microsoft’s new venture, having publically called this change “negative for all”. With the new Windows tablet and phone, Microsoft appears to have many changes on the horizon.

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