Neowin posted a story that it was revealed in an interview with Steve Ballmer that the Surface tablet will not be cheap but will be part of Microsoft's epic year

Windows 8 will be a revolutionary product when it’s released on October 26th, but whether it will be a commercial success is still to be seen. Microsoft is betting the farm that the new operating system, which will run on everything from desktops to tablets to phones, will catch on and end up being the ubiquitous operating system on the planet.

In a recent interview with Seattle Times, Steve Ballmer said that the expectation is Microsoft will have an “epic year” with all of their new products. He was also asked about whether the upcoming Microsoft Surface tablet would be competing with the iPad on price or features, and the answer seems to be “features.” Although he mentions that the price of the upcoming tablet has not yet been announced, he thinks the device will run somewhere between $300 and $800. This should put the $199 Surface rumor to bed.

  Ballmer shoots down $199.99 Surface rumor