In a surprise announcement this morning, Microsoft announced it would be manufacturing its own Windows 8 tablet, known as the surface.
The Windows 8 Surface tablet is only 9.3mm thin, with a full magnesium case and weighing 576 grams, this is the first PC product that Microsoft will be offering outside of its traditional PC manufacturing partners.
Along with Windows 8 on board, apps such as Netflix will be preloaded, and it will include expected features such as semantic zoom, which allows a two finger gesture to show the entire Metro layout.
The Windows 8 Surface tablet has a built in stand that Microsoft claims does not add any thickness to the tablet. An optional cover converts into a touch type keyboard for productivity sessions, with the keyboard turning on and glowing when clicked onto the Surface.
Ports on the Surface include USB 2, HDMI, front and rear cameras, plus Gorilla Glass 2 protecting the Full HD display.
The Windows 8 Surface tablet will come in both Windows RT, which restricts apps to the Windows Marketplace. The Windows RT model will come in 32GB and 64GB capacities and powered by nVidia ARM processors.
Surface for Windows 8 Pro will be powered by Intel Core Processors and will provide the full computing experience including third party programs. These will be released in 64GB and 128GB capacities, and priced along Ultrabook PC lines.
The Windows RT model will be available from the launch of Windows 8, with the Windows 8 Pro model expected around 3 months later.
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