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After a prolonged period of hype, which isn’t really becoming of Microsoft, the company revealed its big announcement at a press conference in L.A. This is Surface, a new range of tablets Microsoft is referring to as ‘A New Family of PCs for Windows’.
Surface comes in two distinct flavors: Surface for Windows RT is a light, slimline tablet running Windows RT that’s reliant on apps for productivity; Surface for Windows 8 Pro is heavier and fatter (though still slim), runs Windows 8 Pro and will be capable of running full versions of Microsoft software. In other words the first is a tablet plus, the second is a PC minus.
The opinions of Surface swirling around the Web are mixed to say the least. On the one hand we have advocates such as Jesus Diaz and Josh Topolsky, on the other hand we have haters such as George Ou and MG Siegler. The strange thing is both sides make good points. Which suggests we’re not actually going to know how well Surface will do until it’s out on the market and selling. Or not selling.
Microsoft did a great job with the reveal. It was almost Apple-like in its approach to unveiling this new piece of hardware, a rarity for a company that’s all about the software. The new ad is gorgeous as well. However, the omission of the pricing for both devices is a huge mistake. I wonder whether the hype will last for six months and more without this information being provided.
The Surface tablets themselves look fantastic. They’re aesthetically pleasing, and the kickstand and keyboard cover combination means these could actually bridge the gap between laptop and tablet in a way that only the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime has come close to doing so far. With the good comes the bad, and there are still question marks over the ecosystem, the confusion that could arise from releasing two distinct products, and how good the final version of Windows 8 will be.
With the Surface, Microsoft is trying to forge the future. It could be argued that this is the first ‘post-PC PC’. Amazingly they may actually succeed on this occasion.
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