No matter how much we'd like it to happen, Microsoft probably isn't going to launch Surface starting a mere $199, as has been rumored this week. Not only would such an aggressive pricing strategy further piss off Microsoft's hardware partners, it would also require selling the device at a significant loss. So, how much will Surface cost? Nobody knows for sure, but according to Lenovo, Windows RT versions will be priced up to $300 less than their Windows 8 counterparts.

Lenovo's investors have to be loving life right about now. The OEM is on top of its game and kept the sales momentum going by announcing yet another strong quarter in which net income (profit) for the three month period ended June topped $141.1 million, up 30 percent year-over-year. Lenovo's PC consumer business in mature markets has more than quadrupled in mature markets since 2008, and the company nearly doubled its PC revenue in emerging markets outside of China, the OEM said.

If you're wondering how OEMs are going to compete with Microsoft's own Surface tablet, here you go. Coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the ThinkPad line, Lenovo, which bought the brand from IBM in 1995, unveiled its first Windows 8 tablet, the ThinkPad Tablet 2. It's a full-size 10.1-inch tablet with "differentiators that matter," like an optional digitizer pen, 3G wireless with pay-as-you-go plans, and 4G models.