Microsoft has breached the surface of tablet computing and reimagined the Windows computing experience in a bold, new way. Its sleek, new 10.6″ tablet PC branded Surface has emerged as “the ultimate stage for Windows.”
Company executives unveiled two Windows tablets and accessories at an L.A. movie studio press conference. The new products feature significant advances in industrial design and attention to detail, including a tablet cover that looks like the Apple iPad fold out flap but houses a built-in multi-touch keyboard and touchpad! A stylus pen writing in digital ink at 600 dpi is magnetically attached. And there’s more!
The new entries in the tablet category will compete with the market leading Apple iPad as well as Amazon’s Kindle Fire, the Barnes & Noble Nook and a new 7″ pad from Google, the Nexus. Lest we forget, the Zune HD one-upped MP3 players in terms of elegance and user interface. The success of Surface will hinge on what lies beneath the cool exterior.
Microsoft’s covert press conference run-up made the secret tablet launch a stunning surprise. It came only days after several Xbox announcements at E3 and hours before the Windows Phone Summit gets underway. With its announcement, Microsoft is talking “ecosystem,” and has raised the bar for the future of its flagship operating system software even before the market has had a chance to weigh in on Windows 8.
The hardware specs are impressive to say the least and the price (unannounced) is “described” as being comparable to the entry-level lines of ARM-based ultra portable laptops. One could call this week’s announcement the biggest new product launch out of Remond since Windows 3.1.
What’s on the surface of Surface?
A 3 mm Touch Cover represents a step forward in human-computer interface. Using a unique pressure-sensitive technology, Touch Cover senses keystrokes as gestures, enabling you to touch type significantly faster than with an on-screen keyboard. It will be available in a selection of vibrant colors. Touch Cover clicks into Surface via a built-in magnetic connector, forming a natural spine like you find on a book, and works as a protective cover. You can also click in a 5 mm-thin Type Cover that adds moving keys for a more traditional typing feel.
VaporMg: The casing of Surface is created using a unique approach called VaporMg (pronounced Vapor-Mag), a combination of material selection and process to mold metal and deposit particles that creates a finish akin to a luxury watch. Starting with magnesium, parts can be molded as thin as .65 mm, thinner than the typical credit card, to create a product that is thin, light and rigid/strong.
Integrated Kickstand: The unique VaporMg approach also enables a built-in kickstand that lets you transition Surface from active use to passive consumption – watching a movie or even using the HD front- or rear-facing video cameras. The kickstand is there when needed, and disappears when not in use, with no extra weight or thickness.
Two models of Surface will be available: one running an ARM processor featuring Windows RT, and one with a third-generation Intel Core processor featuring Windows 8 Pro. From the fast and fluid interface, to the ease of connecting you to the people, information and apps that users care about most, Surface will be a premium way to experience all that Windows has to offer. Surface for Windows RT will release with the general availability of Windows 8, and the Windows 8 Pro model will be available about 90 days later. Both will be sold in Microsoft Store locations in the U.S. and available through select online Microsoft Stores.
For the first time in history, Microsoft will be competing against its partners in a critical segment of the computing market with a CPU-based product. “Acer, SUS, Dell, and HP can’t be happy that Microsoft is coming out with a tablet,” said gdgt analyst Peter Rojas who took it one step further. “It shows that Microsoft is scared enough by the iPad that they don’t want to leave countering it entirely up to the OEMs.”
The sleek new products also blur the line between Microsoft’s highly profitable enterprise business and it costly consumer products’ side. Is the TouchCover the workhorse tool tomorrow’s bread, rust and sun-belt businesses will soon be banging away on. Or is this a boutique tablet for a different kind of consumer altogether. The fact is that Windows Phone, Xbox and the new Surfaces aren’t necessary to make Microsoft a profitable company. They are only necessary to save Microsoft a seat at the fancy consumer marketing table where, it would appear, its CEO, wants to play. [24×7]
