During the past couple of weeks, Neowin has been looking at the upcoming Surface mini press event
with a bit of suspicion that the 'mini' portion of the event is a bit
of smoke and mirrors to cover up the fact that the entire Surface family
is about to undergo some change. To that degree, we uncovered the specs of the Surface mini and even that we were hearing that Intel would be playing a big part of the event as well.
While Microsoft had previously said that Surface Pro 3 reference that was spotted was 'accidently' posted up on a support page
was a simple mistake, it looks like the Surface Pro 3 just got a lot
more real as pricing and specs of the devices have been uncovered.
The folks over at WPcentral appear to have gotten their hands on the
SKUs that will be announced Tuesday as the pricing information is now
being pushed out to retail databases and here is what is known, or at
least presumed to be, the Surface Pro 3 information.
For starters, there will be five, yes five, variations of the product that span the entire pricing range:
- i3-4GB RAM-64GB - $799
- i5-4GB RAM-128GB - $999
- i5-8GB RAM-256GB - $1299
- i7-8GB RAM-256GB - $1549
- i7-8GB RAM-512GB - $1949
There will also be some new covers as well, but this is where the
information is a bit more aloof as we already believe that the Surface
mini will have its own variation for a cover too. Anyways, the new
covers are expected to come in Cyan, Purple, Black and Red; the red
cover could be limited to Microsoft retail outlets.
All of this information falls in scope of what we have been hearing
for some time, that Microsoft wants to create an entire 'family' of
Surface products that span a wide range of prices, as well as
functionality. That 'family' functionality could be determined by its
size, such as the rumored 12in variant of the Surface and the smaller
8in size too. When you bring the current 10in size into the picture, if
all of the above holds true, then Microsoft would have Surface products
at all of the popular tablet and mobile PC sizes.
Microsoft's Surface mini press conference is scheduled for Tuesday
(and we will be there) and based on all of the leaks, it is turning out
to be a product packed event.
Source: WPcentral | Neowin.net
image via google
Microsoft’s Surface mini has been a bit of an elusive tablet; having
been rumored for over a year and then not arriving in the fall when many
expected it to show up on retail shelves, we finally have a press event for the new device. We had previously reveled that the device would come with a pen and the tablet is ready to launch but beyond that, the details were a bit slim, until now.
We knew that Microsoft was working to make the device note-taking
friendly but sources are now saying that that OneNote will be baked deep
into the platform. What this means is a bit unclear, but OneNote will
be getting a prominent role with the tablet so look for it to be a focal
point of the device. To build upon this, Paul Thurrott
has his own sources who say that the device will "differentiates from
the mini tablet competition by providing a very accurate and high
quality stylus for note-taking and OneNote integration".
If you were hoping for a kickstand to be built in, we have some bad
news, kinda. The device will have a cover available that will work as a
stand but, like the touch and type covers, will be an available
accessory to the device.
When the Surface 2 launched, it brought with it a new color option,
silver. The mini may expand upon the portfolio of options but we won’t
speculate on the inclusion of color options on the smaller sized
devices.
As previously rumored, the device will be in the 8in class and will
be ARM based, which means that Windows RT will be the OS powering the
goods. Not really a surprise here as Microsoft knows that if they don’t
build RT devices, the OS will go unutilized in the market.
But the one thing everyone wants to know is the release date and look
for a June launch but the actual release date is still waffling around a
bit.
One item we are still digging to find out is the launch price, that
is still not known at this point but we would expect Microsoft to keep
it competitive iPad mini which starts at $299 and other tablets, such as
the Dell Venue 8 Pro which starts at around $199 depending on which
retail shop you find it at.
With Mary Jo Foley
accurately hitting a couple of the key Surface mini points on the
recent edition of Windows Weekly and our sources are matching that info
quite closely, this gives us further validation that these bits should
be representative of the final product.
[Via]
The Surface mini is a device that has been rumored for well over a year.
As the name implies, it will be a smaller iteration of Microsoft's
Surface tablets, though specifics have remained a bit of a mystery, as
several launch dates of when it might be released have come and gone.
But, as with any good product, the details do eventually start to make
their way out from the confines of Redmond, and we have a few more
tidbits about the device that give us a better indication of what to
expect when the device does arrive.
For starters, we already know that the device will be in the 7- to
8-inch class, but that's really about it in terms of size. You can
expect Microsoft will continue with the same Surface design language as
the other devices with similar materials and build quality.
Marketing
The 8-inch tablet market is generally considered to be for
"consumption-class" devices. With a smaller screen, it's not ideal for
the Office suite, as the tinier display confines usability for power
users. Sure, with Windows 8.1 on many of the devices, getting work done
is feasible but not as desirable as on a proper laptop or a larger
Surface tablet. So with the Surface mini, Microsoft will be positioning
the device as a note-taking device.
Why note taking? Microsoft likes to market products at what they are
designed to be used for, and for the Surface mini, it will be all about
taking notes. That's not really a surprise; Microsoft wants the Surface
brand to represent functionality and entertainment across the gamut, and
with Surface 2 coming with Office out of the box, they want the Surface
mini to be associated with note-taking.
Pen Input
The Surface mini will support pen input – a proper pen, too, not an
old-fashioned stylus. This means it should include
support Wacom digitizer (or something comparable), as proper pen support
needs this additional functionality. The pen support is obvious for a
note-taking device and will help to make the Surface mini competitive in
the market, as the 8-inch class of devices is filled with quality
products. Beyond the branding, the Surface mini will need to compete on
all hardware and software levels if Microsoft hopes to move any units,
hence the pen input support.
Supply Chain
There has been a lot of speculation that the Surface mini was
supposed to launch in the fall with the Surface 2 line of products.
Admittedly, I had heard this information as well and now understand the
source of the supply chain information, but as it pertains to the
Surface mini, know that it was a business decision to not launch the
tablet in the fall.
The basis of the information of the issues with supply chain revolve around the fact that the Surface 2 was out of stock for quite awhile on Microsoft's own site
and at some of their retailers as well. The connection seems logical
– Microsoft can't make Surface 2 fast enough, so surely there is an
issue with mini as well – but that's not what I'm hearing.
Apps
Microsoft has a fantastic note-taking app in OneNote, and with the
Surface mini, there might be more to the story. Now, the details here
are a bit light, but we know that Microsoft is working the make the mini
the "best note-taking tablet" on the market, and this could include new
apps or modifications to existing apps to make them work better on the
mini and with the pen.
Microsoft is constantly updating is suit of applications on Windows
and the improvements here will focus around using them on a smaller
screen. While there are devices that are currently in this class of
device, and we know that the apps work in the 8-inch tablet space, look
for further optimization in the near future.
Release
The big question everyone wants to know is when they can get their
hands on the device. While we wish we had some hard data here, we can
give a bit more color to this subject. We are hearing several things,
one is that the tablet is not dead. Not sure where this came from, but
the Surface mini is alive and will make its way to the market in 2014.
We have also heard from a couple of sources that it could arrive soon, as in the Spring, and this aligns to what Mary Jo Foley had heard as well.
Specifically, we have heard that the mini is actually done, so it's
really up to Microsoft to pull the retail switch to release the device.
Knowing that, it could really come at any time, as soon as Microsoft
wants to make the announcement.
[Via]
