Microsoft unveils Surface tablet computer
LOS ANGELES – Microsoft has unveiled Surface, a tablet computer to compete with Apple’s iPad.
CEO Steve Ballmer announced the new tablet, calling it part of a “whole new family of devices” the company is developing.
One version of the device, which won’t go on sale until sometime in the fall, is 9.3 millimeters thick and works on the Windows RT operating system. It comes with a kickstand to hold it upright and a touch keyboard cover that snaps on using magnets. The device weighs less than 1.5 pounds and will cost about as much as other tablet computers.
The size is similar to the latest iPad, which is 9.4 millimeters thick and weighs 1.3 pounds. Microsoft also promised the Surface’s price tag will be similar to the iPad, which sells for $499 to $829, depending on the model.
Microsoft’s broadside against the iPad is a dramatic step to ensure that its Windows software plays a major role in the increasingly important mobile computing market.
Microsoft is linking the Surface’s debut with the release of its much-anticipated Windows 8 operating system, which has been designed with tablets in mind. The company hasn’t specified when Windows 8 will hit the market, but most analysts expect the software to come out in September or October.
Steven Sinofsky, president of Microsoft’s Windows division, called the device a “tablet that’s a great PC – a PC that’s a great tablet.”
A slightly thicker version – still less than 14 millimeters thick and less than 2 pounds – will work on Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 8 Pro operating system and cost as much as an Ultrabook, the company said. The Pro version comes with a stylus that allows users to make handwritten notes on documents such as PDF files.
Each tablet comes with a keyboard cover that is just 3 millimeters thick. The kickstand for both tablets was just 0.7 millimeters thick, less than the thickness of a credit card.
Although the Surface looks like an elegant device, Forrester Research analyst Sarah Rotman Epps criticized Microsoft for not using attention focused on Monday’s announcement to highlight some of the reasons that it might be a better option than the iPad.
“I am excited about this product, but it felt like Microsoft was pulling punches with this announcement,” Epps said. “Hardware is only part of the dynamic. They need to explain how Microsoft manufacturing this device will change people’s experience with a tablet.”