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Until a few hours ago, the tech media was busy speculating about an upcoming “major announcement” from Microsoft. Some said it had something to do with Windows RT, while others said the company was going to unveil its first self-branded tablets. As it turns out, both of them were right. At an invitation-only event in Los Angeles today, Microsoft unveiled not one but two own-brand tablet PCs.
The “Surface” family of Microsoft-made PCs includes two devices: the Surface for Windows 8 Pro and the Surface for Windows RT. Both sport a 10.6-inch display and are made out of vapor-deposited magnesium. Microsoft has also announced Type and Touch keypad covers for those who prefer a more traditional typing experience over the one provided by an on-screen keyboard. Their specs are as follows:
Surface for Windows RT
Surface for Windows 8 Pro
This is what the official press release says regarding pricing and availability: “Suggested retail pricing will be announced closer to availability and is expected to be competitive with a comparable ARM tablet or Intel Ultrabook-class PC. OEMs will have cost and feature parity on Windows 8 and Windows RT.”
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damicatz
June 20, 2012 at 6:07am
It was good up until the point where I read it ran Windows 8.
I don't buy devices that are locked into a walled garden. To allow a corporation, particularly one with the ethics of Microsoft, to have that level of control is dangerous and unethical.
MrHasselblad
June 20, 2012 at 6:32am
To what extent??
All operating systems and major programs (such as CS6) have items such as Terms of Service. All computer devices also have the same - versions of limitations. Some of those limitations though can be easily worked around.
Is this Microsoft hardware going to be perfect? No. But it's a darn good start. Also noting; that although not in this article - one can bet that there will be a way of also running W7 on their new hardware
There are plenty of people in the "other arena" such as those using iPads which also have limitations as well - and also items that impose levels of control and have aspects that are unethical. For instance look at how much goes back to Apple for someone developing an APP?
damicatz
June 20, 2012 at 8:14am
Windows 8 is the same as the iPad in terms of restrictions.
All Metro applications must be approved by Microsoft. Microsoft can remotely uninstall applications from your computer and they can censor content. They also take 30% off of every sale.
MrHasselblad
June 20, 2012 at 5:07am
This is the death of Windows for the Desktop, in real time, as quoted by Silencer.
My reply...
I'll take that bet; right now, or over five years, or even over ten years.
In 2011 take a wild guess as how many hundred million desktops were sold? The numbers for 2012 so far are even better. So even if the world were to cut desktop purchases down to about ten percent of those numbers I assure everyone out there that there will in fact be a Microsoft operating system for desktops for quite some time into the future.
hermanwarren
June 19, 2012 at 9:21pm
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DU00
June 19, 2012 at 2:45pm
From what I've seen and read the tablet looks pretty good and has some pretty unique design elements, but the smart-cover/keyboard takes the cake. I wasn't too excited about this, but it has me interested. I have to wonder how much of "Courier" went into this.
TheRyGuy
June 19, 2012 at 2:36pm
Personally, this product looks promising to me. I feel Microsoft is moving in the right direction. If this tablet really takes off, I can see future iterations with more powerful graphics, and more I/O ports.
I believe the Pro version will run very well, considering it'll be packing Ivy Bridge. If I weren't a PC gamer, I'd definitely consider the Pro tablet.
A full version of Windows in my hands? I'm game.
Baer
June 19, 2012 at 4:43pm
The more I think about it the more I agree with that one statement, A full copy of Windows on an easy to carry tablet, I'm in.
ilfipian
June 19, 2012 at 1:57pm
The keyboard cover will likely be extra, bumping the price.
How will the other big players, HP, Dell, Acer, Asus feel competing with their OS supplier in the same market?
The locked down bootloader in the RT license.
And every demo of Metro I've seen has looked LAME. Microsoft has not yet grokked mobile and I'm not seeing signs of improvement in 8.
This announcement lacks critical details and is premature imho.
No pricing, what's battery life, how laggy?
ApathyCurve
June 19, 2012 at 7:17am
"Light; Thin; Clear;" instead of Weight, Thickness, Screensize. That sort of corporatized marketing vomit makes me want to hit Ballmer in the head with a baseball bat. It reminds me of the overpaid village idiot down the hall, who stands around with a cup of coffee in his hand "conceptualizing new market opportunities." Not only does he fail to accomplish anything, he actually makes the jobs of productive people more difficult by constantly forcing new "processes" and "paradigm shifts" onto us.
Yep, now I really need my baseball bat. Crap... why did I pick this week to stop smoking?
thetechchild
June 19, 2012 at 10:07am
They changed a few words... It's not as if anybody who actually is fooled by a simple marketing trick like that will even read the tech specs.
And while I commend you for attempting to stop smoking, I really can't see how a marketing ploy on a scale like this is tempting you to regress...
Supall
June 19, 2012 at 5:23am
Wow. Where the hell was this Microsoft years ago during the Zune era? That tablet looks sleek, well designed, and the OS on it certainly fits the bill. There is still hope at Microsoft! I just hope that they don't price it too high.
Baer
June 19, 2012 at 10:28am
I agree, I like it. Finally a tablet that can do real work.
I am enthused enough after watching the anouncement last night that I bought some MS stock.
khalladay
June 19, 2012 at 4:57am
Finally a chance at an enterprise class tablet! Trying to manage iPads in an enterprise AD environment is like herding cats, what a mess. Its obvious Apples only future gameplan is to monopolize the consumer market with stripped down overpriced toys. At least Microsoft is making an attempt at keeping the business world running! Let the consumers have RT and give more features and performance to the business world.
Sty
June 19, 2012 at 1:30am
I don't know about you guys, but I think that looks sexy. If the price is right, I am picking one up pronto.
someuid
June 18, 2012 at 10:34pm
Interesting how the Windows RT device will come with Office 15 apps, but the Windows 8 Pro will not.
This tells me Microsoft is not really interesting in offering you a productivity device. They seem more interested in inflating sales of the RT device by giving it with office. If you chose not to take a gamble on something that may flop and they abandon, you can just pay extra money for Office on the Win8 Pro device.
What we want are devices that let us consume entertainment and work efficiently. MS instead gives us gambles and puzzles and what-if scenarios.
Balmer is not leading Microsoft in the right direction. MS needs someone serious about offering solutions, not lukewarm, me too products.
big_montana
June 19, 2012 at 5:29am
If you are purchasing the Win 8 Pro device, odds are good that your place of employment will provide Office or at the least they have a software assurance licensing with MS which allows employees to purchase Office Pro for $10, like my firm has, you cannot beat $10 price for any version of Office. Plus, you are forgetting one feature of Windows 8, which is installed on one device run on multiple Win 8 devices, which would negate the need for another Office license.
Cregan89
June 18, 2012 at 11:59pm
Office 2013 RT (ARM) is limited, including only Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. Office 2013 for x86 includes additional features (anybody who actually uses MS Office for serious work knows just how complex and powerful the entire MS Office suite is). Thus it is sold separately (currently) and with a different pricing model.
How does this device not exactly deliver by letting us consume entertainment and work efficiently? This device blows all iOS and Android devices out of the water in terms of productivity (optional keyboard, optional stylus, MS Office, optional x86 legacy compatibility, and active-directory compatible), and offers the exact same level as iOS and Android in terms of ability to consume entertainment through 3rd party apps, and if we're talking built in ecosystem, any user of the Zune Music Subscription service will tell you that Zune puts iTunes and the Google Play Store to shame. And the new Xbox media services coming in Windows 8 are completely based on Zune.
How is this gambles, puzzles, and what-ifs? It's all right there in a real device that they're showing off...
jth
June 19, 2012 at 1:48am
Thank you for pointing out the awesomeness of the Zune Pass. People can make fun of Zune all they want but the actual subscription is so worth the $10 a month. Yes you need a compatible device (PC, Zune, WP7, Xbox) but Google Music and iTunes offer nothing like it and Spotify and MOG, though available on other platforms, are a complete nightmare to actually use with their horrible software and offline-mode nonsense. And as you mentioned they're not baked into an ecosystem as robust as the one Microsoft is really pushing to expand even more.
Cregan89
June 18, 2012 at 9:56pm
Finally. This is what the post-pc era is all about. It's not actually a post-pc era at all. It's the realization that the "personal computer" is more than the desktop computer and notebook computer. This signals the forthcoming commitment from the industry to get creative when it comes to form-factor, as there isn't a one device fits all solution.
And say what you will, but Windows 8 is perfect for what it was exactly designed to do. And that's to shake up the status quo in the PC OEM market, forcing hardware manufacturers to adapt and get serious about engineering, design, and quality. And Windows 8 provides that platform that is open to interpretation and that is ready for new and interesting form factors.
Kudos to Microsoft for sticking a dagger into the Apple "post-pc era" crap by shaking the market up and making every device a "PC". And even more awesome that they spit in Apple's face by calling their poster child "Surface", as in "we actually did touch first".
Slurpy
June 18, 2012 at 9:40pm
“Suggested retail pricing will be announced closer to availability and is expected to be competitive with a comparable ARM tablet or Intel Ultrabook-class PC."
So, $600 and $1000, then? So much for an iPad killer.
timekills
June 18, 2012 at 10:42pm
$600 would be right in line with the cost of a non-4G iPad (albeit with Retina display...) or any other "real" tablet. If it is as good, or better, there are many that would prefer to use a MS-based product since they already own others.
stradric
June 18, 2012 at 9:38pm
There's hope that Microsoft can actually pull this off well. But then they do something lame like not give pricing or release dates and that hope fades ever so slightly.
At the very least, this is already a better (non-)launch than the Zune. To me, the Surface is far more appealing than an iOS or Android tablet as it has potential to actually replace a laptop.
I shall keep my eye on this.
