Microsoft announces the Surface tablet - A Threat to Apple's iPad?

Undeniably the Apple iPad has been a great success ever since it made its debut on the market, and with great success comes a lot of pressure. For years a tablet wars took place right under our noses, with companies such as Samsung, Asus and Apple battling for supremacy on the tablet market. Now however, things are about to change because Microsoft is planning on joining the party.

But first, I must point out that despite the common belief, Microsoft is not really a stranger to the tablet concept and as some of you may recall, back in 2002 Bill Gates revealed the Tablet PC, an idea that became more popular and came into fruition roughly eight years later bearing the name of Apple iPad.

As it turns out, the recently announce tablet dubbed Microsoft Surface is supposed to take back what's theirs and appears to be a direct competitor to the iPad, and even Asus as well.

The Microsoft Surface tablet will come in two versions, one running on Windows RT OS, and the other, more powerful tablet running on Windows 8 Pro. So far not many specifications have been revealed but what we do know is that the Windows RT variant will have a 10.6 inch ClearType HD Display, a 31.5 W-h battery, microSD card slot, USB 2.0, Micro HD Video, 2X2 MIMO antennae, 32 /64 GB internal storage, it will weight 676 grams and it will be as thin as 9.3 mm.

The beefier Windows 8 Pro on the other hand will sport a 10.6 inch ClearType Full HD Display, a 42 W-h battery, microSDXC slot, USB 3.0, Mini DisplayPort Video, 2x2 MIMO antennae 64 / 128 GB internal storage, will weight 903 grams and will be as thin as 13.5 mm.

What both tablets have in common is that the case is built using what Microsoft calls "VaporMg", a material that mixes metal, depositing particles and magnesium, resulting in a strong, light and thin casing that has the feel of a luxury watch. Furthermore, both the Windows RT and 8 Pro versions will also feature Corning Gorilla Glass.

A few other interesting aspects are that the Microsoft Surface appears to come with a big kickstand and also has the capability of being docked into a Keyboard module (which comes in a lot of different colors), making it a direct competitor to Asus and its Transformer concept.

Will the Microsoft Surface be your next tablet? Let us know in the comment section below.

Source: Microsoft
Via: WPCentral