Microsoft unveiled their foray into the tablet market. The Surface is Microsoft’s answer to Apple’s iPad. Will it dethrone the current tablet king? We’ll have to wait and see.
Microsoft announced 2 versions of the Surface, the Surface for Windows RT tablet and the Surface for Windows 8 Pro tablet.
The RT version sports an NVIDIA Tegra based ARM chip while the Windows 8 Pro packs an Intel Core i5 (Ivy Bridge) processor.
The RT offers a Magnesium casing, weighs 676 grams, 9.3 mm thick. It has a 10.6” inch screen plus something that the iPad doesn’t have, a myriad of I/O ports such as microSD, USB 2.0, Micro HD Video ports. It will also come in 32 and 64 GB variants.
The Pro coming a few months after the RT sports the same Magnesium casing or as Microsoft calls it VaporMg. It’s slightly heavier at 903 grams and 13.5mm thick. The Pro will come with microSDXC, USB 3.0, Mini DisplayPort. Capacity will be 64 and 128 GB.
It looks like the RT aims to compete with the iPad and the Pro with ultrabooks.
The design kind of reminds me of a Lenovo/IBM Thinkpad, squarish, simple and black. Now that’s not a bad thing per se. I personally like it. I’m not too happy about the flip out stand though. It looks like it’s going to break off easily.
Surprisingly the thing I liked most was Microsoft’s version of Apple’s Smart Cover. Theirs has a built-in keyboard with trackpad. That one looks neat even if they did draw “inspiration” from the Smart Cover.
The biggest concern I have with the Surface is that I’m just not sure if it’s what a tablet should be. You have all this options for peripherals, which is nice, but it makes it seem like it’s more of a netbook/ultrabook than a tablet.
Surface looks interesting but can Microsoft build a user experience the same way Apple did? The iPad’s success is not just in the hardware but it was in the whole eco-system and how it was put together.
I can’t say for certain how well this will compete with the iPad. Microsoft didn’t give much detail to fully understand how well this tablet is built. I like some of the things I saw but I reserve judgment until it’s actually available in the market and can be tested.
What’s your take on the Surface?
