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New Microsoft Surface family of PCs announced Microsoft has just revealed a new family of Windows 8 PCs called Surface. This is Microsoft's return to the hardware game, engineered and designed by Microsoft employees entirely. It sports a full-sized USB 2 port, HDMI outs, and has a 10.6-inch, 16:9 aspect ratio screen. Configurations from 32GB to 128GB will be available at launch. The 3 mm tablet cover is actually touch sensitive, and features a full pressure-sensitive keyboard. A 5 mm-thick keyed case will also be available. An accelerometer is built into the cover. Two versions will be made available. One running an ARM processor running Windows RT, and another running an Intel Core processor with Windows 8. Both will be sold in Microsoft Store locations across the U.S. as well as online. Pricing will be announced later, and is said to compare to Intel Ultrabook-class PCs. I wonder how these will work with games. Xbox application has already been mentioned, and Skulls of the Shogun has been announced already. See the full Surface specs for both models after the jump as well as a product video. Surface for Windows RT
Surface for Windows 8 Pro
Legacy Comments (will be imported soon)"Full size USB 2 port" WOAH! Welcome to a Microsoft future!
But seriously; looks okay...although I won't be walking within a mile radius of one, but I'm sure they have their uses. looks like a waste of money, even more so than the ipad. both are wastes of money, but this one will probably have very little to no 3rd party support if the windows phone is anything to go by. There was a rumor about Microsoft partnering with Barnes and Noble for e-reader capabilities too. I guess they didn't mention that huh? Damn. Might have to start saving for that Pro model. Since Windows 8 is designed mainly for touch input, and it has a Core i5 and Nvidia graphics if I read correctly. Not sure how much memory, but sounds like it could double as a decent
gaming PC too. Plus it looks sleek as hell and Im loving the extreme attention to detail they're putting into it. Remember when system specs used to be things like, processor speed and graphics card? And 64 GB, seriously?
At least it has a hard drive, though if Windows 8 is entirely app based I'm out. I'm currently typing on an outdated Windows (pressure sensitive) tablet laptop with 250 GBs, for gaming and art, so Surface looks like a huge step backwards functionally. Looks mediocre. It says something about your product when most people are creaming over the cover, and not the actual product. I'm a huge fan of the Windows 8 Metro OS, so this turns me on quite a bit.
Although, I don't expect to do very much on this. Especially gaming wise. Would be great for some programming on the go though. Wow, looks like they really hit it out of the park with this one. I think it's initial success will hinge on the pricing though. They need to undercut the RT version and maybe sell it at a loss in order to price it below the iPad. Although this looks like it may be the better tablet, they will struggle to compete at the same price point with a 1.0 version of a device. However this looks like a perfect laptop companion. I love my laptop but it is too damn heavy to lug around all day. Surface looks perfect for notetaking and mobile computing, especially when the important accessories are all included. @dachshundfan From what I hear a lot of normal programs will be running on the tablet so it already has support. Needs to be cheaper than the iPad, or MS is just wasting their time and it'll be Zune 2.0.
Specs and whatever don't mean anything in this case, honestly. Just price. Must be cheaper than the iPad, or they may as well just dump them in the desert with Zunes and ET carts. Not buying Surface, Windows 8, or all this mobile crap. Just make PC games the way they are supposed to be made and let's stop screwing around. @unsilentwill
There's no way Windows 8 is going to be app-based. People have been using Windows 8 for a long time already, and it's been fine, just like Windows 7 as far as functionality goes. It seems like this is, more or less, Microsoft's answer to the iPad, somewhat like how the Zune HD was an answer to the iPod Touch (in my opinion.) I'd be interested in this if not for the fact that I just bought a new laptop (which has THREE USB 2 ports! Eat it, Microsoft!) Do. Want.
@Dragoonkin - interestin - but if price and not specs were all that were important - all those cheaper Android tablets should be wiping the floor with the ipad now. And no one would have a notebook - we'd all be rocking netbooks. I believe the marekt is large enough to support high end and low end products at different price points. That said - the cheaper the better! @jqm
I'm still liking my asus tablet too(I think it is a different one...), but this looks kind of cool...o.o Can it run shogun total war? This is what has been missing from the iPad, for me. A tablet that also functions as a PC. I can run stuff besides just "Apps". I can install the full steam client and play real games on the tablet. Fuck those goddamn apps. Sure some are useful but it's just gotten out of control. Original post is a bit off. Microsoft said the RT version (the one with ARM processor) will be priced at "comparable" tablet price. Which means probably the same as the iPad for memory size. The PRO version (the one with an intel i5 inside) will be priced at the ultrabook price range, so probably in the 1K and up area.
Also for those of you who don't keep on the gadget blogs. The RT version will be an "app" only affair no backwards compatibility with the last twenty years of Windows programs. The PRO version is full Windows and will run the new apps and all your ancient programs. So be sure you don't get the wrong one when it comes out. I love how Microsoft jumps back into the hardware game to make a tablet that the competition is going to made a dozen duplicates of, thus rendering it completely unnecessary for WRT and Win8 to succeed.
But no Zune HD 2, something that only Microsoft could make. /rage It's amazing how negative you all are.. especially with little reference to its actual capabilities.
"this one will probably have very little to no 3rd party support if the windows phone is anything to go by." Ever hear of Windows? Yeah, it has a few programs that run on it. Well.. at least the Pro version will be true blue Windows 8. "Needs to be cheaper than the iPad, or MS is just wasting their time and it'll be Zune 2.0. " It's simultaneously a capable laptop and a fully featured, highly mobile tablet. It supports all the Windows programs (at least the Pro), has a keyboard, is as mobile as a tablet, and has a tablet interface when you'd prefer that. It also has USB and HDMI ports. Oh, and it has the Intel Ivy Bridge processor on it (again, the Pro). That's one of the best processors out there.. desktop or laptop. This thing is a fucking beast. It's important to note that there are two versions here, Windows RT on an ARM-based system, and Windows 8 Pro on an Ivy Bridge platform. RT will be the thing you all seem to dread, app-based due to the underlying ARM architecture being incompatible with existing x86 software. It will however have a version of Office at launch, but future software will need to be compiled or ported specifically for the device.
Windows 8 Pro (likely substantially more expensive) will essentially be a fully functional PC, running all the Windows software you use already. With that out of the way, the hardware is very slick. I'm impressed that Microsoft, known for operating systems and the Xbox 360 RROD, managed to pull off something that frankly rivals Apple's hardware design. Success will depend on them drumming up support for the more affordable RT model, since people in the market for Ultrabook/laptop PCs will be buying the Pro models regardless. It's clear that this form factor is the future of the notebook computer. I guess it's time for me to get over my aversion to tablets now that they include a really sexy keyboard. Garbage. If this is anything like Windows phones, including the new ones, I'm never going to buy it. Windows is complete garabage and I hope they diaf. Buy something actually worth your money that won't break after you have it a month for no reason and have shite apps unless you want to pay 6+ bucks for the ones that are actually good and then they fucking crash or make your phone stop working all together. Once more, garbage. F*ck you windows you rich slutty whore.
Garbage. Hinges on the pricing, but a tablet with both a physical keyboard and the proper desktop OS instead of a shitty mobile equivalent is pretty much a day-one. Pretty cool, I'll have to try it myself to see whats up. PRO version sounds bad ass but I kind of already have a sick laptop. I'm mostly iffy about the keyboard and the OS, as thin things with functionality are not microsoft's strong suit and windows8 just doesnt jive with me. ll @ idiots.
it's a TABLET PC, not some crap like iPad and other BS shite. it's full Windows-based PC with tablet capabilities - by default it wins with every single tablet available. i was waiting for something like this for years now. if the Pro version is between 600-800$(for 64GB), i'm in. Do they have a pressure sensitive screen I can use with a stylus for art/design purposes? I realize I'm a minority, but that's all I care about in a tablet. @Pennywise. They mention the PRO version has some sort of optional pen support but they didn't go indepth on it so I'm not sure if it will be good for artists or not. Though I suspect it will since that would be another difference point Microsoft could tout over the iPad. And the move to complete monetization of all applications on desktop computers begins...
I really hope Windows 8 fails, if only for the fact that I want freeware to remain alive and well and don't want to have everything sold to me through an app store. Everything about this OS feels much more restricting than 7. If they were only using it for Windows Phone or their tablets it would be one thing, but for a desktop it just seems like a really bad idea. @pennywise
They've only mentioned the keyboard to be pressure sensitive and the touch-screen will have Palm Block so you could draw without your palm registering as a touch command. From pics/vids it looks like it has a capacitive screen which means no pressure-sensitivity, but I'd wait for some more specs to be revealed. "I really hope Windows 8 fails, if only for the fact that I want freeware to remain alive and well and don't want to have everything sold to me through an app store."
I'm not sure why you think Windows 8 is going this way at all. 8's main feature is that it's bringing Windows compatibility to the tablet market. Eliminating that would.. well.. destroy the only killer feature. Additionally, not all apps on the iPad or Android cost money. In fact, you can get by with almost anything with a free variant, especially on Android. Also, while iOS is locked to the App store, Android isn't at all. I'm not sure why you'd assume Windows 8 will suddenly become a stripped down iOS, other than a complete and utter lack of faith in Microsoft. Come to think of it, I guess I can understand the lack of faith in Microsoft, but, still.... Looks amazing! I never use Windows unless I have to, but for those that like Windows I'm guessing this thing looks pretty awesome. @killias2
I lost faith in Microsoft with the Xbox 360 and the way they run Xbox LIVE. Microsoft will do anything to nickel and dime you to death, and having the app store being such a central feature of Windows 8 is a really bad sign. well we have blue screens of death, red rings of death. will this have a yellow or green pad of death? Sup Holmes sucks beetle funk with Luis Hernandez[Destructoid's Director of Communications Hamza Aziz asked Jonathan Holmes to make a show called 'Sup, Holmes?' so that Destructoid could later sell a t-shirt that says 'Sup, Holmes?' on it. This is that show. Subscribe... more Gratuitous Space Battles: The Outcasts impressionsIntergalactic wars are not the sort of conflicts one expects to finish up in an afternoon, or even a plethora of afternoons spread across multiple years. Positech Games' Gratuitous Space Battles is a war seemingly without end... more Corgis cosplaying as your favorite videogame heroesCorgis are one of the cutest animals in the world. Fact. So what's cuter than a corgi? Corgis dressed up in outfits! More specifically, corgis dressed up as your favorite videogame hero. And that's just what we've made happen... more The DTOID Show: Killer Is Dead, Revengeance & SimCityHey gang, The Destructoid Show wasn't live today, because our producer Zac has his fingers cut off for failing at his Yakuza duties. Er. He cut his hand by accident. Something, I forget. Today, we discuss the possibili... more Interview: Disney Infinity's John Blackburn on toysAn hour after taking the stage to unveil Disney Infinity, "Disney's most ambitious video game initiative ever" (a press release states), I sat down with Avalanche Studios chief creative officer John Blackburn to discuss where... more Friday Night Fights: Returning to the BattlefieldWelcome to another edition of Dtoid's Friday Night Fights! For this week's Match of the Week, Elsa and falsenipple are taking us back to the battlefield after waaay too long of a hiatus. Battlefield 3's long-awaited "Aftermat... more Note Worthy 011: Twilight Symphony, NSMBU, NESteryearsThis sounds like the Nintendo edition, doesn't it? Don't worry, we also have other cool stuff like The World Ends With You -Crossover- and Saturday Morning RPG, the soundtrack you never knew you wanted.There are a lot of big ... more Tackling Temple Run 2 for iOS at a full sprintWhen I got my iPhone in 2011, I immediately started snatching up as many free games as I could to get a feel for mobile gaming before making any actual monetary investment. One of those games was Imangi Studios' Temple Run, a... more Podtoid 236: Give My Scarecrow A BlowjobThis week's Podtoid mixes hot debate with hot milk, as we take a trip to the Dirty Diary, answer a listener's call to reduce our gay content, and open a new museum in which Jonathan Holmes saves the Human League from horny sc... more 13 new things about Lighting Returns: Final Fantasy XIIIYou think you know everything about Final Fantasy? I did too, but there's a whole bunch of weird new stuff going on with the next title in the series, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, due out late this year. I've just r... more |     Dtoid is... Dale North Editor-in-Chief Jim Sterling Reviews Editor Hamza Aziz Dir. Communications Conrad Zimmerman Managing Editor Jordan Devore PC Editor Andy Dixon Community Manager Rick Olson Dtoid.TV Producer Niero Gonzalez Publisher Editors Meet the team Our sites Flixist Japanator Tomopop Contact Us Suggest News Advertising General Info  |
6:42 PM on 06.18.2012
