The software giant Microsoft met the American press at Milk Studios in Los Angeles to make an announcement of its products. Invitations sent by the Redmond company made various sparking rumors during the weekend, from the Xbox pad to electronic reading light. So after unveiling the Xbox SmartGlass application at E3, Microsoft goes further by unveiling its own tablet called Surface.
Steve Ballmer introduced two versions of the Surface device, called "home" and "professional". The "Home" model of Surface tablet is built on the Nvidia Tegra processor with ARM architecture, and will be supplied with ARM-compatible Windows RT operating system. The thickness of the device is 9.3 mm (0.1 mm thinner than the new iPad), and weight - 676 grams with a diagonal of 10.6 inch display (iPad - 9.7) and a 16:9 aspect ratio, like a modern TV (the iPad - 4:3) and a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. The devices will be equipped with USB 2.0 ports, Micro HD Video output and a slot for microSD cards with 32 or 64 gigabytes of internal memory support. Battery capacity will be 31.5 Watt-hour.
The "professional" model of Surface tablet has a similar external screen. In fact it is a full-fledged PC with Intel Core i5 latest generation processor. For the power and ability to use "full" Windows 8, it will have the increased thickness (13.5 mm) and weight (903 grams). But in this version, the display of device will come with the same diagonal, but the resolution of Full HD, and support for USB 3.0, compatible with most monitors, Mini DisplayPort, more powerful (42 Watt-hour) battery and built-in memory with two options - 64 or 128 gigabytes.
An important factor for the success of any gadget is the manufactured accessories for it. The most noticeable in the case of Surface are two different keyboard covers. Both are attached to the lower long edge tablet with magnetic closures (like SmartCover on the iPad). On the inside one can use the keys, touch, or mechanical, as well as the touchpad.
Price of this two tablets is not yet known. One can only imagine that, if the tablet is more expensive than a similar version of the iPad, then its chances of success will tend to zero. If it will be cheaper, it is sure to bring the company millions of dollars damage. At the presentation it was said that the price of Surface Tablet will be "competitive with similar ARM-tablets" (ie the version with Windows RT can cost anywhere from $500) and ultrabooks (which means "professional" version is unlikely to cost less $ 700-800).
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks