Microsoft’s Surface is apparently popular. The company’s first foray into the tablet market resulted in the 32GB tablet selling out in less than a day. Consumers were stuck with the 64GB model, but that might not be such a bad thing.

It’s fact of life that all forms of memory are not as spacious as the number on the box claims. A 1TB HDD is going to be more like 975GB after formatting and required software is stored on it. The same goes for Microsoft’s new Surface tablet as the 32GB capacity is reduced by half when everything is said and done.

A hidden away FAQ on Microsoft’s Surface Web site details just how much space is available on each model of the Surface after all the required data, such as Windows RT and Microsoft Office, is installed. The 32GB model is reduced to 16GB after Windows recovery tools takes up 5GB and Windows RT takes up 8GB. It should also be noted that the 32GB Surface starts out with only 29GB of memory from the start. The 64GB model is similarly reduced, but only has its storage cut down to 46GB.

Once again, it’s not surprising. The only thing is that uneducated consumers may buy a Surface this holiday season thinking it’s a 32GB device without realizing that its memory has been reduced due to on board applications. It could lead to a minor backlash when those consumers realize that Windows does indeed take up quite a large chunk of space.

Either way, anybody receiving a Surface this holiday season isn’t stuck with just the internal memory. Windows RT is mostly Windows 8 through and through, and therefore supports numerous external storage options. The Surface has a USB and SD card port that can boost the Surface’s storage capability into hundreds of gigabytes.

[h/t: Engadget]