Latest news is that Microsoft launches Surface tablets that are powered by Windows 8.
The tech pioneer ‘Microsoft’ hosted a ‘Mystery Event’ for techies to ponder over Microsoft’s new plans and innovations. The event happened on June 19 at Milk Studios Hollywood, Los Angeles.
There were many speculations regarding the event especially when the event was announced only 2 days ago. Everyone was surprised about Microsoft’s plans. Some said that Microsoft will be showcasing Windows 8 tablets, some talked about anti-gravity boots, some wondered about Microsoft’s TVs and there were rumors about some Skype integration as well, but no one was sure.
The event started a bit late than it was scheduled. The stage was very elegant and sober. The animation was showing rectangles which occurred to everybody as a representation of a ‘box’, or ‘X- box’ to be more specific. So everyone was looking forward to some innovations in X-Box.
Well after much delay the event was kick started by Steve Ballmer. “Windows is the heart and soul of Microsoft”, he said. He told about the Microsoft’s journey right from when it started from scratch, with a dream to have a Microsoft PC everywhere, a feat which it has almost achieved.
Today there is a Microsoft computer everywhere, right from an ATM to a NASA Workstation. He also talked about Windows 8 and how it would interleave into the world of mobility. He expressed his gratitude towards the response of the users to Windows 8.
Then he talked about another story of how Microsoft started in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. Then he told briefly about various innovations that Microsoft made during its journey to the top, viz. the mice, keyboards, Xbox, Microsoft Surface and Kinect of course.
He told how Microsoft revolutionized computing by giving a new interface called ‘mouse’. And then how it came up with Kinect, another interface which brought a new way of gaming and human interaction with the machine. Then he gave a brief intro about Windows 8 and said “However with Windows 8 we did not want to leave any seam uncovered.”
He basically showed how Microsoft had developed the most revolutionizing input interfaces which evolved the way people interacted with machines.
And then came the major announcement: Microsoft Surface
And as its new hardware companion, Microsoft presented the all new Microsoft Surface on the stage. You can think of it as a fully touch enabled tablet or should we say tablet-laptop hybrid. Moreover, this tablet runs on Windows 8 RT and another version of it runs Windows 8 Pro. Then Steve handed the stage over to Steven Sinofsky and his team, who has been working on this surface project.
Steven began by saying that they were reimagining the tablets, just the way they reimagined PCs. He showcased a 9.3 mm thick tablet which is just thick enough to house a USB port. It has a Liquid Magnesium Case, one of its kind Scratch Resistant Vapor Deposition Case. With a 10.6 inches display operating on Windows 8, the looks of the this surface tablet are stunning. He just swiped the new tablet and it was running NetFlix with Windows 8 UI and full screen video with no banding; that was the first glimpse of this beauty.
For great Wi-Fi performance it has dual 2×2 MIMO antennas which surprisingly you will not be able to find on the outside as they have been cleverly embedded in the body. As a luxury feature it has an in built stand for you to make the tablet stand upright. He told that there will be two variants of this tablet; one with an x86 processor and other featuring ARM.
It has Gorilla Glass 2.0 so not to worry at all about scratches and spots on the screen. It will always look as good as new. The magnetic cover came as a surprise which is just 3mm thick and has a keyboard and track pad embedded into it!! It has both front and rear facing cameras. You can plug in USB devices for office use as well.
The other Surface model was then showcased running Windows 8 Pro. It was 14mm thick and weighed less than 2 pounds. It has a high resolution clear type display. The x86 versions uses Intel’s Ivy Bridge processors and the ARM versions use NVidia Tegra 3.
It also has innovative “Perimeter Venting” system which cools the tablet, so you need not worry blocking it while holding it. It uses digital ink and works with a stylus, which snaps into the case. The ink is sampled at 600dpi and is therefore very smooth. There is no layer between the glass and the screen so it’s no less than writing on a page.
It has two digitizers one for stylus and one for finger touch so you can easily rest your palms, no worries of faulty touch at all. There will be 32GB, 64GB for RT versions and, 64GB and 128GB options for Windows 8 versions. It has a display port for external monitors as well. It also features support for USB 3.0. Check the video of Microsoft Surface here
It also has a ‘TYPE COVER’ for touch typists, which comes in five vibrant colors to choose from. Moreover, the Metro UI will automatically change its color as per the color of the type cover. When you fold the cover back, the device will know that you did and it will turn itself OFF. Microsoft’s 30 years into input devices let it create such an elegant and compact touch input user experience in this smart Type Cover.
At last Ballmer concluded the event by saying “The Surface is a PC, the Surface is a tablet and the Surface in something new which we think people will absolutely love.” You can read more about this Surface on the official Microsoft website
People will actually love this new product by Microsoft, which redefines the word ‘TABLET PC’. One will ultimately fall in love with this tablet PC, which is just like an ostentatious book in your hands.