Introducing The Microsoft Surface Tablet!

MICROSOFT ANNOUNCES NEW SURFACE TABLET ARRIVAL!

Well folks, all of the anticipation and rumor-mongering is over... Microsoft has officially announced the Surface, their very first branded tablet device!

The Surface Tablet will introduce Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system, and it appears to be a large 16x9 display tablet that comes with a kickstand and an industry-first folding case that comes with two types of keyboards that flip over like a book, or snap right on as an external component.

The "Touch Keyboard" is only 3mm thick, and snaps right onto the device. You can also get a "Type Keyboard" that is 5mm thick and features fully embossed keys that you can actually press down.

You get a 10.6" display made from Gorilla Glass II, and what they are calling the "VaporMG" case that is solid and durable. The thickness of the overall tablet is only 9.3mm deep. The Windows 8 "Metro UI" operating system is said to be very intuitive and easy to pick up, similar to Windows Phone Mango.

They are touting this tablet to be a potential replacement of a regular desktop PC, or a laptop. With the unobtrusive keyboard covers, I could see this device replacing my current laptop computer, but I would still want the muscle of a desktop for heavy duty computing.

Something else worth mentioning, the covers are magnetic (similar to the iPad cover) and they are multitouch. Plus, the kickstand action is easily employed to prop up the Surface for use on a desktop.

This is an ARM-based NVIDIA chip tablet that has the hardware features that I would expect coming from a non-Apple device, like an SD card slot, standard USB 2.0 ports, HDMI output, 32Gb or 64Gb of storage, and a 31.5Wh battery. Initial reports say that it is super slick, fast, and super-responsive to gestures.

But the biggest most exciting non-Apple feature in my opinion is the inclusion of a pressure sensitive stylus. It is said to be a "digital ink" stylus. I'm not sure what that means at this point, but it obviously indicates a greater-than-normal capability than that of traditional styluses.

My prediction on price is probably half of what this device will be sold for. Rather than a middle-of-the-road tablet, it looks like Microsoft is swinging for the fences in producting a fully capable computing device that will rival the funtionality of an iPad.

That's about all I have gathered information-wise at this point, and we'll keep you posted as more details come in. I might have to start saving up some money and put the Surface tablet on my Christmas wish list!

Carlton Flowers
Exposing The Surface

The Big Microsoft Announcement: Will It Be An iPad-Killing Tablet?

MICROSOFT SET TO UNVIEL MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT

Rumors are flying and excitement is running high concerning a major announcement coming from Microsoft Corporation on Monday, June 18th 2012. Could this be the unveiling of the first iPad killer? Nobody knows... but here are my thougts!

First of all, I'm still salty that Microsoft dropped the ball and never released the Courrier tablet back in 2010. It was a double-screen folding book tablet that had a stylus.

Everyone knows that I'm a huge fan of the stylus with mobile devices. The Courrier would have been a first of its kind concept that was different from the iPad or any other tablet. But I don't think this new device will be similar to the Courrier.

My prediction is that this will in fact be more of a traditional tablet device, but something that will be ground-breaking with the new Windows 8 operating system and live tiles concept. If anyone can make an iPad killer, it would be the Microsoft Corporation. But I don't see them taking on the iPad market head-on.

With the recent news of Google developing their flagship Nexus Tablet device that boasts a possible super-low entry level price for a "quality" tablet, I think the lower-end market is more ripe for the picking. I'm not of the opinion that people are looking for another $600 to $800 tablet device other than an iPad.

I see Microsoft hitting the tech sector with something more in the mid $300 price range that will turn heads and draw people away from the Amazon Kindle Fire, the B&N Nook Tablet, and the upcoming Google Nexus Tablet. But this device will possibly have features that would motivate people to spend the extra dough to get their hands on this new gadget.

It makes sense to me that Microsoft would create a device that builds on the Windows Phone Mango platform, which could quite possibly be Windows 8. This would fit perfectly within their current offerings, and fill the gap where they don't have a presence.

We know that Microsoft does not actually manufacture their own hardware, as is the case with the XBOX gaming system that rules the roost in the gaming industry. So could this possibly mean that Microsoft could team up with Nokia again, makers of the flagship Windows Phone Mango smartphone? I think yes.

Nokia is off to a slow start with the Nokia Lumia 900. Partnering again with Microsoft on producing a new Windows 8 (or Windows "RT") tablet would certainly give the company a much needed boost. And with rumors still swirling around a possible buyout of the Nokia corporation for $8.8 billion, I'd say that the Redmond tech giant wouldn't be thinking of partnering with anyone else to build such a device.

We will keep our eyes on the horizon and see what unfurls by Monday, and follow it all the way to the end. At this point, I think Microsoft Corporation knows that they can't flop out a dud and miss out on this late opportunity to finally put a dent in the solid tablet market that is owned by the Great Fruit Dictatorship.

Carlton Flowers
Windows Watcher