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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Microsoft unveils Surface Windows 8 tablets | Microsoft unveils Surface Windows 8 tablets |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Microsoft has unveiled Surface - its own-brand family of tablets. | Microsoft has unveiled Surface - its own-brand family of tablets. |
| The touchscreen computers will be powered by its upcoming Windows 8 system and contain a choice of an Intel or ARM-based processor. | |
| It allows the firm to challenge Apple's bestselling iPad with a device that can run standard applications such as its own Office programmes and Photoshop. | |
| But it puts Microsoft in competition with other manufacturers planning to release tablets designed for Windows 8. | |
| The company's chief executive, Steve Ballmer, said he had wanted to give the software "its own companion hardware". | The company's chief executive, Steve Ballmer, said he had wanted to give the software "its own companion hardware". |
| The devices have 10.6 inch (26.9cm) displays, built-in kickstands and are housed in magnesium cases - which the company described as the first of their kind. | The devices have 10.6 inch (26.9cm) displays, built-in kickstands and are housed in magnesium cases - which the company described as the first of their kind. |
| The ARM-based tablets are 9.3mm (0.4 inches) thick - slightly less than the iPad - and run the Windows RT version of the new system. The Intel-based versions run Windows Pro and are thicker. | |
| The specifications mean the Surface tablets have bigger screens than the iPad but are heavier. | |
| Pen input | Pen input |
| A variety of accompanying covers fold out to offer a keyboard and multitouch trackpad. | A variety of accompanying covers fold out to offer a keyboard and multitouch trackpad. |
| The devices are also designed to work with a pen accessory using what the firm dubbed "digital ink". When the stylus is held close to the screen of the tablet it ignores touch-input from the users' hands and "samples" the ink at 600dpi (dots per inch). | |
| The ARM-based version will be available with either 32GB (gigabytes) or 64GB of storage. Microsoft said they would be priced at a similar rate to other tablets using the same type of processor built by other firms. | |
| It added that the Intel-based versions would be offered with either 64GB or 128GB of storage and would have price tags comparable to ultrabook laptops. | |
| One tech analyst told the BBC that other hardware makers were likely to feel aggrieved by the news. | |
| "Microsoft can offer a competitive price for these specifications as it doesn't need to pay itself a licence for the Windows 8 software which other manufacturers will have to do, and that might make its PC and tablet-making partners unhappy," said Carolina Milanesi, research vice president at the technology consultants Gartner. | |
| She added that the firm appeared to have focused on a specific part of the market wanting a more powerful device than Apple's iPad. | |
| "They seem to be be targeting a professional audience," she said. | |
| "So they are going head-to-head with Apple within the corporate sector. Price will be key - these devices won't be at the bottom end of the market. They will probably let other manufacturers fight over that space." |