Microsoft leaks prices of Windows RT Surface tablets -- at $499 to $699 they won't catch the iPad

Microsoft accidentally listed the selling prices of its Windows RT Surface tablets this morning, and the prices are surprisingly high: $499 for the cheapest model and up to $699 for a fully loaded one. At those prices, Surface tablets likely won't make a dent into the iPad's dominance.

GeekWire reports that the Surface was listed briefly for sale on the Microsoft Store this morning, before being pulled. The 32GB version of the Surface was listed as selling for $499, and that's without the Touch Cover, an accessory that does double duty as a cover and a keyboard. The 32GB version of the Surface with the Touch Cover will sell for $599, and a 64GB version with a Touch Cover will sell for $699.

At those premium prices, it's not likely the Surface will make much headway against the iPad or against lower-cost Android tablets. The $499 pricetag matches the $499 pricetag of the least-expensive iPad. True, the iPad at that price comes with less storage than the Surface, 16GB, but that won't be enough to give the Surface a kickstart.

This isn't the first time that pricing for a Windows RT tablet was listed on a Web site and then pulled. Last week on NewEgg I found a listing for an ASUS Vivo Tab RT 10-inch tablet for $599. It came with a a MicroSD slot and an HDMI port and 32GB of storage. After I wrote a blog about it, the listing was pulled.

It's clear by now that prices for Windows RT tablets will generally be the same as iPads, and several hundred dollars more than smaller Android tablets such as Google's Nexus 7, the Kindle Fire HD, and the upcoming NOOK HD.

Because of that, don't expect Windows RT tablets -- or their higher-prices cousins, Windows 8 tablets -- to eat into the iPad's market dominance or into the growing market share of lower-cost Android tablets. That's a shame, because Windows 8 for tablets (and most likely Windows RT) is better in some ways than iOS. It's a very good tablet operating system that might not get much of a chance because of pricing problems.

Update: Microsoft has confirmed the Surface pricing, and is making it available for pre-order today at www.surface.com.

Preston Gralla is a contributing editor for Computerworld and author of more than 40 books, including "Windows 8 Hacks" and "How the Internet Works". You can follow him on Twitter or Google+.