Some of you may of seen not that long ago that Microsoft unveiled their new Surface Tablets, expected to launch around Autumn 2012.
As always, they have been lots of articles on the pros and cons of what Microsoft Surface has to offer, as well as a little chuckle when Steven Sinofsky, the President of Windows and Windows Live Division, was showing off the Surface....and it crashed leading to an excruciating 20 seconds as he talked around the hiccup, before popping behind the podium to grab a luckily-prepared backup!!!
It's not really what we are used to Microsoft doing with their main market being hardware, relying on brands such as Acer, HP and Dell to bring their products to the market, but we wanted to give you the "un-biased" low-down of all the key features on the new tablets.
Firstly, we have noticed (along with everyone else) that the Surface Tablet has many similarities to a laptop, such as the built in keyboard, making it more attractive to the business market that the competition such as the iPad or the Samsung Galaxy tablet.
There will be 2 versions launched - one running Windows RT, the new version of Windows that resembles Windows Phone and uses low power processors, and another running the full Windows 8 and using traditional Intel chips.
The version running Windows RT will:
- Come with either 32GB or 64GB
- Be 9.3mm thick (or thin!)
- Weigh just 676g
- Have microSD, USB 2.0, Micro HD Video, 2x2 MIMO antennae ports
The version running Windows 8 will:
- Come with 128GB of memory
- Be 13.5mm thick
- Weigh 903g
- Have microSDXC, USB 3.0, Mini DisplayPort Video, 2x2 MIMO antennae ports
Both versions will have 10.6” 16:9 widescreen HD Displays with an ultra-wide viewing angle, along with Stereo speakers and dual microphones for enhanced video chat. As also mentioned above, they will both also come with USB ports and SD card slots for connectivity and with being made out of magnesium which is both very rigid and very light, they will, be ultra-portable.
The Surface comes with an integrated Kickstand and a 3mm thin, pressure sensitive cover that doubles as a fully functioning keyboard and trackpad. The Touch Cover connects to the Surface with a single magnetic click - very chic as well as practical and to us, the most exciting thing about the Surface!
Surface also has two cameras. There is the front LifeCam to video chat with people and the rear-facing LifeCam is angled to 22 degrees so you can flip out the Kickstand and record meetings or family events.
The Surface tablet will only come with WiFi connection at the moment - not 3G or 4G. Many people have said this will probably change in the future and, there is always the dongle option if necessary. Also, to give your Surface a bit more personality, you will be able to choose from 5 different coloured keyboards - Black, white, red, blue and pink.
There are 3 areas of specifics that we still do know yet though - battery life of the product, the release date and the price. Rumours have said that the price will be higher than the equivalent iPad though and battery life up to 7.5 hours...which also falls short of the latest iPad.
So, our overall opinion on the Microsoft Surface Tablet? Battery life and price will help make the decision. The market is already quite saturated, with many competitors being let-down when going against the maket leaders, Apple with their iPad. Saying that though, Microsoft have designed something that could have it's own place in the market. With the kickstand and the pressure sensitive keyboard/cover, attracting the market who do more work based functions and would be looking for laptop functions combined with the portability of a tablet.
