- Mar 24, 2011
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By Steve Ranger
August 28, 2012, 9:15 AM PDT
Takeaway: Microsofts Windows 8 tablets - all you need to know.
Microsoft designed the Surface itself, which suggests it lost confidence in its partners' ability to produce a successful tablet. Photo: Josh Lowensohn/CNET News
OK, lets get under the surface of Surface
Surface is Microsofts most ambitious attempt to crack the tablet market - and provide a proper rival to Apples iPad. Surface should not to be confused with the Microsofts tabletop touchscreen computing offering also previously known as Surface - which is now known as PixelSense.
Whats so exciting about Surface?
Possibly the most important thing about Surface is that Microsoft has taken charge of both the software and the hardware and is keen to point out that Surface is conceived, designed and engineered entirely by Microsoft employees.
Microsoft has designed its own hardware before of course, in the form of the Xbox and, er, the Zune, but mostly leaves hardware design to its partners.
That Microsoft has felt the need to step in with its own design suggests it has finally lost patience with the uninspired tablets its partners have released - and which have signally failed to trouble the iPad. It also reflects how important Microsoft thinks the tablet market will be in the post-PC future.
Tell me about the specs
The first thing to point out is that Surface comes in two flavours - one with an ARM processor running Windows RT, a slimmed-down version of Windows 8, and one with an Intel core processor, running Windows 8 Pro.
Surface for Windows RT will release at the same time as Windows 8, while the Windows 8 Pro model will be available about 90 days later. So expect the first Surface tablets to be launched towards the end of October, and the Pro model sometime in early 2013.
Surface for Windows RT weighs in at 676g and is 9.3mm thick - enough for a standard USB as well as Micro SD. It comes with Office 15 Apps and in 32GB and 64GB options. Surface for Windows 8 Pro is heavier at 903g and thicker at 13.5mm and comes in 64GB and 128GB versions.
Tell me more about the hardware
The tablets have a 10.6-inch, 16:9 widescreen HD display and come with two cameras - a front-facing camera and a rear one angled at 22 degrees to allow users to record events hands-free when using the tablets integrated stand.
Some elements of the design have created a bit of excitement, most notably the Touch Cover, a 3mm-thick magnetic cover that doubles as a pressure-sensitive keyboard. There is also the 5mm-thick Type Cover, which has moving keys for a more traditional typing feel. The tablets stand frees users from having to hold the device while watching movies, for example.
So why two models?
Microsoft is aiming at the business and consumer markets, which have very different requirements. And there is one important difference between the Windows RT and Windows 8 Pro devices: Windows RT machines will only run new Windows 8 apps and wont be able to run older software.
Now that lack of backwards-compatibility clearly hasnt hurt the iPad. But it means the success of the Windows RT device will be tied to how many developers build Windows 8 apps, just as part of the reason for the success of the iPad is the vibrant ecosystem of developers building for the platform.
So how much is it going to cost me?
Microsoft is being a little coy here - only saying that pricing is expected to be competitive with a comparable ARM tablet or Intel Ultrabook-class PCs.
ARM-based tablets range in price although the Nexus 7 comes in at a mere $199, whereas Ultrabooks - the high-end of laptop design, according to Intel - can cost as much as $1,000.
So that gives Microsoft plenty of room for manoeuvre, although it has led to some interesting speculation about how the pricing model will work. Microsofts pricing will reflect that the device is aiming at consumer and business markets with the two different models.
The enterprise market is likely to put up with higher prices than the consumer market ever would. This point might give it a handy commercial advantage over Apple, which has priced the iPad as a high-end consumer device.
What do Microsofts partners think about Surface?
Unsurprisingly, Microsofts hardware partners arent overjoyed about the Surface because its existence undermines the authority of any Windows 8 tablet hardware they release.
Acer head JT Wang even went so far as to urge Microsoft to reconsider releasing Surface hardware, telling Microsoft via an interview in the Financial Times: Think twice. It will create a huge negative impact for the ecosystem and other brands may take a negative reaction. It is not something you are good at so please think twice.
Still, Surface tablets are only likely to account for a few million of the nearly 400 million Windows PCs sold in the next year, so is unlikely to cause a major rift. And many of Microsofts standard hardware partners are working on Windows RT tablets already.
Whats the enterprise view?
Surface is the iPad rival that businesses have been waiting for, according to TechRepublics CIO Jury. Enterprise IT organisations have been obliged to support the iPads that have flooded into business as part of the bring-your-own-device wave, but most IT departments are Microsoft shops, certainly when it comes to the desktop.
So having a tablet that fits with the rest of their enterprise IT architecture is one reason why CIOs are likely to welcome the Surface tablets. Still, not everyone in convinced, with one analyst house warning that Surface could end up being the new Zune.
Is the Surface a genuine iPad rival?
Microsoft is likely to find warm support from enterprise IT for the Surface, as theres plenty of pent-up demand there. Encouraging developers to build Windows 8 apps will be another key element.
However it really needs to crack the consumer market if it is to challenge the iPad - hence the emphasis on wow features such as the VaporMG case, the sort of finish usually reserved for luxury watches.
The success of the Nexus 7 shows that consumers are willing to buy something that isnt an iPad - but Microsoft needs to get the price right.
August 28, 2012, 9:15 AM PDT
Takeaway: Microsofts Windows 8 tablets - all you need to know.
Microsoft designed the Surface itself, which suggests it lost confidence in its partners' ability to produce a successful tablet. Photo: Josh Lowensohn/CNET News
OK, lets get under the surface of Surface
Surface is Microsofts most ambitious attempt to crack the tablet market - and provide a proper rival to Apples iPad. Surface should not to be confused with the Microsofts tabletop touchscreen computing offering also previously known as Surface - which is now known as PixelSense.
Whats so exciting about Surface?
Possibly the most important thing about Surface is that Microsoft has taken charge of both the software and the hardware and is keen to point out that Surface is conceived, designed and engineered entirely by Microsoft employees.
Microsoft has designed its own hardware before of course, in the form of the Xbox and, er, the Zune, but mostly leaves hardware design to its partners.
That Microsoft has felt the need to step in with its own design suggests it has finally lost patience with the uninspired tablets its partners have released - and which have signally failed to trouble the iPad. It also reflects how important Microsoft thinks the tablet market will be in the post-PC future.
Tell me about the specs
The first thing to point out is that Surface comes in two flavours - one with an ARM processor running Windows RT, a slimmed-down version of Windows 8, and one with an Intel core processor, running Windows 8 Pro.
Surface for Windows RT will release at the same time as Windows 8, while the Windows 8 Pro model will be available about 90 days later. So expect the first Surface tablets to be launched towards the end of October, and the Pro model sometime in early 2013.
Surface for Windows RT weighs in at 676g and is 9.3mm thick - enough for a standard USB as well as Micro SD. It comes with Office 15 Apps and in 32GB and 64GB options. Surface for Windows 8 Pro is heavier at 903g and thicker at 13.5mm and comes in 64GB and 128GB versions.
Tell me more about the hardware
The tablets have a 10.6-inch, 16:9 widescreen HD display and come with two cameras - a front-facing camera and a rear one angled at 22 degrees to allow users to record events hands-free when using the tablets integrated stand.
Some elements of the design have created a bit of excitement, most notably the Touch Cover, a 3mm-thick magnetic cover that doubles as a pressure-sensitive keyboard. There is also the 5mm-thick Type Cover, which has moving keys for a more traditional typing feel. The tablets stand frees users from having to hold the device while watching movies, for example.
So why two models?
Microsoft is aiming at the business and consumer markets, which have very different requirements. And there is one important difference between the Windows RT and Windows 8 Pro devices: Windows RT machines will only run new Windows 8 apps and wont be able to run older software.
Now that lack of backwards-compatibility clearly hasnt hurt the iPad. But it means the success of the Windows RT device will be tied to how many developers build Windows 8 apps, just as part of the reason for the success of the iPad is the vibrant ecosystem of developers building for the platform.
So how much is it going to cost me?
Microsoft is being a little coy here - only saying that pricing is expected to be competitive with a comparable ARM tablet or Intel Ultrabook-class PCs.
ARM-based tablets range in price although the Nexus 7 comes in at a mere $199, whereas Ultrabooks - the high-end of laptop design, according to Intel - can cost as much as $1,000.
So that gives Microsoft plenty of room for manoeuvre, although it has led to some interesting speculation about how the pricing model will work. Microsofts pricing will reflect that the device is aiming at consumer and business markets with the two different models.
The enterprise market is likely to put up with higher prices than the consumer market ever would. This point might give it a handy commercial advantage over Apple, which has priced the iPad as a high-end consumer device.
What do Microsofts partners think about Surface?
Unsurprisingly, Microsofts hardware partners arent overjoyed about the Surface because its existence undermines the authority of any Windows 8 tablet hardware they release.
Acer head JT Wang even went so far as to urge Microsoft to reconsider releasing Surface hardware, telling Microsoft via an interview in the Financial Times: Think twice. It will create a huge negative impact for the ecosystem and other brands may take a negative reaction. It is not something you are good at so please think twice.
Still, Surface tablets are only likely to account for a few million of the nearly 400 million Windows PCs sold in the next year, so is unlikely to cause a major rift. And many of Microsofts standard hardware partners are working on Windows RT tablets already.
Whats the enterprise view?
Surface is the iPad rival that businesses have been waiting for, according to TechRepublics CIO Jury. Enterprise IT organisations have been obliged to support the iPads that have flooded into business as part of the bring-your-own-device wave, but most IT departments are Microsoft shops, certainly when it comes to the desktop.
So having a tablet that fits with the rest of their enterprise IT architecture is one reason why CIOs are likely to welcome the Surface tablets. Still, not everyone in convinced, with one analyst house warning that Surface could end up being the new Zune.
Is the Surface a genuine iPad rival?
Microsoft is likely to find warm support from enterprise IT for the Surface, as theres plenty of pent-up demand there. Encouraging developers to build Windows 8 apps will be another key element.
However it really needs to crack the consumer market if it is to challenge the iPad - hence the emphasis on wow features such as the VaporMG case, the sort of finish usually reserved for luxury watches.
The success of the Nexus 7 shows that consumers are willing to buy something that isnt an iPad - but Microsoft needs to get the price right.
