Microsoft is getting into the hardware business in a big way. In a press conference moments ago, Microsoft unveiled two “Microsoft Surface” Windows touch tablets built and designed by Microsoft itself. The new tablet appears to be thin, lightweight, has two cameras, and most of the perks you’d expect in an iPad-like tablet, but it comes with two big surprises: a pull-out kickstand to prop itself up and a screen cover that doubles as a keyboard.
“What is it? It’s something new. Something different. A whole new family of computing devices from Microsoft,” said Microsoft’s Steven Sinofsky. “Surface is a stage for Windows.”
The rumor mill has been running wild since Microsoft hastily threw this press conference together last Thursday. Almost every site believed Microsoft was going to announce a tablet today, but the rumors break down after that. Some believed Xbox or SmartGlass would be involved, while others thought Barnes & Noble might be the manufacturer of a tablet-like device of some kind. It doesn’t appear that anybody realized Microsoft had innovated in the keyboard space.
View pictures of the new Microsoft Surface tablets.
Microsoft Surface specs
There are two models, currently. One runs Windows RT (ARM processor) and the other runs Windows 8 Pro (Intel processor, backward compatible with Windows 7 applications). The specs are below.
The new tablets will be between 9.3 and 13.5mm — depending on which model you go for — has a 10.6-inch 16:9 touchscreen with a 720p or 1080p pixel resolution, Gorilla Glass, Microsoft Office, a full-size USB port, and even has a magnetic stylus that sticks to the device.
The pro version will run on Intel Ivy Bridge processors and come with 64GB or 128GB of internal storage. The ARM version will run on a Nvidia processor.
The Touch Cover
The touch cover has two models: one that is 3mm thick and another that is a bit thicker. It connects to the tablet via Bluetooth and has a built-in accelerometer so that it somehow knows when it is opened as a keyboard and when it’s being used as a cover, presumably to save battery life — yes, your Touch Cover will have a battery.
We’re excited
This is odd news since Microsoft is now putting itself in competition with its own hardware manufacturers — something that it has previously said it would not do. With that said, Microsoft is hardly the first operating system creator to venture into hardware. It has already done so quite successfully with the Xbox and somewhat unsuccessfully with the Zune. Apple makes a living out of tightly pairing its hardware and software, while newer rival Google has partnered with select hardware makers for all of its new OS versions and recently purchased Motorola with the intention of getting into the hardware game. Even Microsoft signed a deal with Nokia last year which makes Nokia the preferred vendor of Windows Phone devices.
Will companies like Toshiba, Acer, Samsung, Asus, HP, and others be upset by this news? Will they all start secretly developing their own operating systems? Only time will tell, but it is definitely important for Microsoft that the Windows 8 launch performs smoothly and excites people. It’s livelihood is riding on this release — a fact that couldn’t be more evident after seeing the Microsoft Surface.
When is it coming?
Unfortunately, we don’t yet know when these tablets will launch, where you’ll be able to buy them, or how much they’ll cost. The Windows RT version will come out when Windows 8 launches, but the Pro version won’t be released until 3 months after the launch later this year, likely putting it into early 2013.
i smell another Zune incident, what?, just sayin.
I think it is cool but I don’t see myself buying one for the same reason I don’t currently own a tablet. Between my desktop, laptop and phone I really don’t have need for it.
windows sucks…
Considering it’s using Win8 it’s more likely to succeed I think. It’s better tied into the PC’s and phones with that platform.
Kinda looks like my Asus Transformer Prime… I goes as long as Microsoft has changed at least 30% of the design they don’t need to worry! lol
I like that the screen is one inch bigger than ipad. Bigger is still better. They need to make an 18 for my kitchen…
Kinda looks like my Asus Transformer Prime… I goes as long as Microsoft has changed at least 30% of the design they don’t need to worry! lol
I like my ZUNE :-(
That does look cool.
Hopefully it will be successful!
Ok, first big mistake: Two models with different hardware. This is just stupid and confusing to the consumer.
Secondly, Microsoft is really going to tick off their hardware partners like HTC, Samsung and Toshiba by directly competing with them. Now, this didn’t happen with Google/Android and their partners, so it might not happen with Microsoft, but I still think its a poor move.
One of the biggest mistakes Google made with their Android partners is not creating enough uniformity. You have a ton of hardware manufacturers each with different pecs and screen resolutions. This made the Android Marketplace a nightmare to deal with (you didn’t know what resolution the app would be at). I hope Microsoft learned from Google and Apple first, but I don’t think they did seeing how they have two different Tablet architectures here.
It’s definitely a risk. I continue to think that the biggest problem with Windows 8 is that to buy any of it, consumers are going to have to know the difference between Intel and ARM, and then which version of Windows 8 corresponds to that (Windows 8 or Windows RT) and what they lose or gain from either version. It’s so stupidly unclear by the way Microsoft is trying to prop these up as the exact same experience.
Sounds like a good piece in the works. “Why Microsoft Surface is doomed already!”
regular Windows user/consumer doesn’t even know what’s the difference between an atom and other kind of processor, or the different Windows versions…most of these consumers just buy a dekstop/laptop/netbook because they want to have one. if you offer a lot of people this tablet with windows, with office and desktop app, they’re going to buy it without a doubt, they won’t care about arm processor or intel processor. I think prices is gonna be the main factor of the success of the surface
I think that’s a good point. From a distance, Surface seems to me more of an ultrabook than a tablet — but I would guess it’s really both. For customers who never saw the practicality of a tablet, the stand and keyboard could justify spending the cash. For people who really only want a tablet and not much else (kids), it gives them a reason to convince those with the cash (their parents) to buy the thing.
Not confusing at all, the price will sort things out in a hurry. The RT will come in at Ipad or notebook type pricing and the Windows Pro version will be like an Ultra-Book and ready for professional work.
2)Microsoft has finally decided to lock down Windows 8 RT, like Apple, and they will be providing templates so to speak for Devs. and Factories to work from so it will make their building process much easier then doing on their own. So it will say them production costs. So no problem pissing them off.
3) Google is trying to unify Android as seen in the upcoming Jelly Bean on the new Nexus 7 tablet.