Steve Ballmer has been talking about 2012 as “the most epic year in Microsoft history,” most probably because the software giant isn’t just a software giant any more, its on the way to become a hardware giant as well or a “devices-and-services” company as their CEO would put it. Apart from their entrance in the hardware market, Microsoft is also launching Windows 8 which is expected to be great.

The Seattle Times got a chance to sit with Microsoft’s CEO, Steve Ballmer, and talk about this “most epic year”. He compares the Windows 8 with the launch of Windows 95 and says that “Windows 95 was certainly the biggest thing in the last 20 years until now”. He is expecting a sale of around 400 million Windows based PC in the next year.

Talking about Surface, Steve said, “I think we have a very competitive product from the features perspective”. Talking about the tablet market from a pricing point of view, He thinks that from “$300 to about $700 or $800″ is the sweet spot and when cheaper tablets are made, they do less, they look less good and they are chintzier.

His comments about tablets make us think that Microsoft is looking to offer the very best tablet at each price point and obviously the ‘very best’ tablet will come with a higher price. This falsifies the rumors of Surface RT being $199.

Steve Ballmer on Surface Pricing & Windows 8