New details are starting to leak out about the specs and pricing on Microsoft's new tablet, and so far it doesn't sound too good.

Bloomberg reports hearing from two sources that the Microsoft Surface tablets will be Wi-Fi only at first, which may be an effort by the company to keep costs down.

Meanwhile, TheNextWeb hears from another source that Microsoft will price the lower-end Windows RT tablet at $599.

In effect then, Microsoft would be releasing a tablet without a 3G or 4G connection, which would place it more in line with cheaper tablets like the Kindle Fire and the Nook Tablet, but it will be pricing that device at nearly the same cost as Apple charges for a 16 GB iPad with 4G LTE connectivity ($629). That's not exactly a recipe for success.

Throw in the fact that one new estimate shows the battery life on the two tablets will fall short of the competition, and Microsoft's new tablets start to seem like a much tougher sell.