Research outfit IDC believes the figure is a sign of bullishness on Redmond’s part and it is easy to see why. The Android crowd struggled in the tablet market for several quarters and it is still not even close to Apple. Microsoft is likely to face similar challenges.

Of course, the fact that Microsoft is planning to build three million units this year does not mean that it will sell them all by the end of the year. Surface tablets should launch in late October and it is unlikely that we will see global availability until quite a bit later.

IDC also dismissed claims that Surface RT tablets could sell for as little as $199. Such a price would only be possible if the devices end up heavily subsidized by carriers on two-year plans, which means they would end up costing more than $599 in the end.

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