Microsoft will have both an x86 and an ARM based version of the Surface tablet. The obvious choice for the ARM based version is nVidia’s Tegra 3 SoC while Microsoft has opted for an Inte Core i5. Interestingly enough the choice of CPU, storage and even the size of the tablet does not seem to be the biggest feature.

What most people are talking about is the magnesium alloy shell, the kick stand and the attached back cover which can fold all the down into a full multi-touch keyboard complete with trackpad. (We wonder how Asus is going to feel about this one).

In fact we wonder how all of Microsoft’s partners are going to feel about having to directly compete with Microsoft now. This could hurt them in the long run as the move could be viewed as a lack of confidence in their partners’ ability to produce a good Windows 8/RT device. This might cause some of them to drop off in favor of devices that do not have the same price premium for licensing that Windows 8/RT is expected to have.

We will be asking around to see if we can get a comment out of anyone about this one. Still we are a little surprised at the device. It has a very familiar look to it. We would not be surprised at all to find out that the Surface was designed by the same team that put together the ZuneHD. Still no matter how good it looks or even performs Microsoft has an uphill battle with the consumer. Although they might trust Microsoft for their gaming console we think they might hesitate in buying an actual computer from them. Just look at the failure of the Zune, ZuneHD and the Kin. All Microsoft product and to be honest (with the exception of the Kin) they were better than the competition in many ways.

We will be following this one and let you know any additional information we find out. Microsoft has not released pricing or any other details as of this writing, but we will dig and see if we can find something more.

Picture Source CNET

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