Microsoft has announced its very first Windows 8 tablet with the name "Surface", it's actually the very first "Exclusive Windows" hardware if you will. No it's not an Asus nor a Samsung it's built and sold by Microsoft itself. So let's jump into the specs right away.
Surface is a 10.6 inch tablet which comes in two flavours, has an ARM chip version and an Intel chip version which will be announced later. The ARM chip version has an Nvidia ARM chip running Windows RT, it's 9.3mm thick and weighs about 1.3lbs. The display is a 10.6" 16:9 aspect ratio, Clear Type Full HD (1080p) screen protected by Gorilla Glass technology. The Windows RT version will be available in 32GB and 64GB capacities. For connectivity you have USB2.0 and a 2x2 MIMO antenna for WiFi, it also has a micro SD slot. The tablet has a nice kick stand and also a magnetically attachable keyboard. Microsoft claim that the keyboard is twice more sensitive than the screen itself, amazing! The case is made out of a new composite Magnesium material called "VaporMg" and feels quite sturdy in the hands.
The powerful Intel chip version will be running Windows 8 Pro, using a new Ivy Bridge Intel Core i5 processor. That model will be 13.5mm thick and it'll weigh about 2lbs. It'll be available in 64GB and 128GB models and will have USB 3.0 on board with the rest pretty much the same as the RT version. The nice thing about Surface is that the keyboard itself will act as a cover for the tablet as well, a solid idea too. Both the tablets will be having a front facing camera and a rear camera the details of which have not come yet.
The tablet will be released around the release of Windows 8 this winter hopefully. The device is really a strong step in making Windows a real competitor of other tablet OSes (Android and iOS). Only time will tell whether Surface can become the next king of tablet world replacing iPad, I think it is quite likely to happen. There was no word on the pricing but they say it'll cost pretty much the same as any other high end tablet. Now that people are fast switching to more compatible light weight forms of computer, Microsoft has turned its attention toward the more popular technology form factors by introducing Windows Phone and making coming Windows, that is, Windows 8 more like a tablet Operating system. A strong sign of Microsoft's prosperous future.
