Microsoft previews Surface tablet

18.06.2012
Microsoft took a bold step into the tablet market on Monday with the unveiling of a computer aimed squarely at bettering Apple's market-leading iPad.

The computer, called Surface, will be available in two versions. One will run the Windows 8 Pro operating system and the other will be based on Windows RT, a new version of Windows designed to run on the ARM family of processors that are predominant in the tablet market.

"It's something new, something different, a whole new family of computing devices from Microsoft," said Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, at a Los Angeles news conference.

The machine has a 10.6-inch, widescreen, high-definition display and comes with a 3-millimeter-thick, pressure-sensitive cover that doubles as a keyboard.

Current specifications call for the Windows RT version to be slightly thinner but slightly heavier than Apple's latest iPad, although Microsoft notes the size and weight of the device could change once mass production begins.

The device was detailed at a Los Angeles news conference that saw Microsoft apparently copying a page from Apple's product launch playbook. Gambling that its status and the promise of "major" news would be enough, Microsoft managed to attract around 300 reporters to the event despite providing no advance details of the nature of the news and not even disclosing the location of the announcement until Monday morning.