Microsoft marks its first step into the tablet industry by introducing Surface. Microsoft has brought its first ever real PC, the Surface Pro, at the CES 2013. Loaded with features the Microsoft is bringing this new PC-come-tablet into market soon, probably by the end of this month. Though the date of launch is not announced, the Surface Pro will have high processing power and full Windows 8 operating system. The Surface Pro can easily transform into a tablet by detaching the keyboard and using the Windows 8 touch screen functionality. The Surface Pro with Windows 8 is a full-power PC that can be used as a notebook, or a tablet, or both.
Will Microsoft bring the Surface Pro with Office 2013 loaded into it is not known yet. If not, Microsoft will sell Office 2013 separately to Surface Pro owners. Office 2013 will have Excel, Word and Powerpoint as their key applications. Microsoft is going to provide templates when user starts these applications.
Surface for Windows RT, another tablet from Microsoft, comes with slightly lower version of MS office. i.e. Office 2013 RT. The Windows RT runs on ARM based processor.
The Surface Pro uses Plastic casing, weighs around 2 pounds but feels solid and elegant. It has a kickstand on the back of the monitor which helps the monitor not to tip backwards.
Surface Pro has an Intel Core i5 processor inside and a “third generation” chip with Intel HD graphics 4000. It is likely that Microsoft could use the Intel’s new 7W chips in Surface Pro at the time of launching. The Surface Pro will have 64GB or 128 GB of storage and will have 4GB of RAM. All the connections are on the sidewall of the monitor, including the microSD slot. A USB 3.0 port is also provided that will support transferring large files in just a few seconds. The keyboard can be detached when not needed.
The screen is a 10.6 inch touch screen looks beautiful and gives a true HD experience with 1920 x 1080 resolution. The Surface Pro comes up with an active Pen. Microsoft has provided this Pen to use it like mouse, or write/paint smoothly on the screen. Microsoft has taken care in using the active Pen. When user tries to use the Pen, it blocks the touch functionality on screen so that the fingers won’t interfere with the Pen functionality. A unique magnetic Pen holder is also provided on the side to clip the pen.
Microsoft Surface Pro Release:
Microsoft is bringing this full Windows 8 PC that can run all the required softwares. The Surface Pro is priced at $899. We will have to wait till Microsoft brings this PC into market and will have to see what additional features Microsoft is going to offer with the Surface Pro.