Microsoft Surface: first serious iPad competitor?
Watch out, Apple. Microsoft鈥檚 mystery announcement is out of the bag and it鈥檚 giving the iPad for its money.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer unveiled , a new tablet that heads a 鈥渨hole new family of Microsoft computing devices,鈥� Ballmer announced at the mystery event at the Milk Studios in Hollywood, Calif., Monday afternoon.
From what we鈥檝e seen and heard, the Surface tablet is perhaps the first serious competitor to Apple鈥檚 iPad tablet. What鈥檚 more, it鈥檚 got the capability of a PC 鈥� as good for creating content as it is for consuming, according to Ballmer鈥檚 highly anticipated announcement and demo.
The 1.8-pound device will have a 10.6-inch Gorilla Glass 2.0 screen with a thickness of . Like the iPad, it鈥檚 got a magnetically-connected magnesium case that doubles as a kickstand for viewing 鈥� and it also has a full multi-touch keyboard, a major advantage for users who want a more versatile tablet.
Another advantage? The Surface tablet also comes with Microsoft Word, a full-size USB drive, and can run a full Windows desktop, making it a true tablet computer. It will run on Windows 8. The tablet also comes with digital ink so users can use a magnetic stylus to write on it.
Microsoft hasn鈥檛 yet released price points on the Surface tablet, which will be available in later this year, probably timed to the holiday season.
As for e-reading, the Surface tablet may not be ideal: at 10.6 inches, it鈥檚 more unwieldy than most books. Readers who want a device solely for reading would probably be better off with a Kindle or Nook. E-reading wasn鈥檛 featured at Microsoft鈥檚 Monday鈥檚 demo.
This device, however, is poised to take a chunk out of the tablet market, especially the corporate tablet market. Unlike Apple, Microsoft is the software of choice for corporate America. With Surface, Microsoft offers security (Apple鈥檚 security has always been suspect in most corporate settings) as well as compatibility 鈥� existing Microsoft software can run on the Surface tablet.
鈥淚f you use your PC to design and create things, this is for you,鈥� Ballmer said at Monday鈥檚 announcement. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a full PC.鈥�
It may not be ideal for reading, but this is one tablet we鈥檙e excited about.
Husna Haq is a Monitor correspondent.
