Tech

A Closer Look At Microsoft's Game-Changing Windows 8 Tablet

By Julie Bort
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Microsoft Surface tablet
Ubergizmo

Microsoft today revealed its own tablet, which it calls the Surface tablet.

This could be a game changer for the company as it fends off Apple and the iPad.

Click here to check out the new Surface > 

Microsoft took the wraps off two models of the Surface today: one running an ARM processor featuring Microsoft's new tablet OS, Windows RT, and one an Intel Core processor featuring the Windows 8 Pro operating system -- which is a step up from the ordinary Windows 8 OS.

Surface for Windows RT will be available to the public when Windows 8 is officially released. Microsoft still hasn't given an exact date for that, but we do know it will be in the fall, in plenty of time for the holiday shopping.

The Windows 8 Pro model will be available about 90 days later, Microsoft said. So that's around year-end.

But, Microsoft didn't mention how much this device will cost. For a deeper dive, keep reading...

The new tablet is crucial to the survival of Microsoft, Business Insider's Jay Yarow explains:

It's very thin 9.3 mm for the Windows RT version and 13.5 mm for the Windows 8 Pro version.

Microsoft Surface tablet
Microsoft

It's got a 10.6” ClearType HD Display 16:9 aspect ratio, HDMI all set up for HD video.

Microsoft Surface tablet
Endgadget

It has a built in stand -- smart!

Microsoft Surface tablet
Endgadget

The kickstand folds down to disappears when it's not in use, too.

Microsoft Surface tablet
Endgadget

The Intel version includes a 3 mm 'Touch Cover' keyboard in lots of colors.

Microsoft Surface tablet
Microsoft

The Touch Cover clicks in and then becomes the tablet's protective case.

Microsoft Surface tablet
Endgadget

The Intel version includes a digital ink app and pen for drawing, annotating.

Microsoft Surface tablet
Engadget

The outside case is something Microsoft calls VaporMg that creates a finish like a luxury watch.

Microsoft Surface tablet
Microsoft

Like other Windows 8 Pro devices, the Intel version will run Windows 7 software.

Microsoft Surface tablet
Engadget

Here's the tablet running Adobe Photoshop Lightroom for editing photos.

Microsoft Surface tablet
Engadget

Surface is 9.6mm thick - just enough to get a USB 2.0 port in it.

Microsoft Surface Tablet
Ubergizmo

More photos into Microsoft's tablets

Microsoft Surface Steve Ballmer
AP

FIRST PHOTOS: Here's Microsoft's New Tablet 'Surface'

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Julie Bort
Julie Bort
Julie Bort was Business Insider's Editor at Large for the Tech team. She loves investigating stories and shedding light on the tech industry's most amazing people.Here's a small sample of some of Julie's work.Former Pinterest employees describe a traumatic workplace where managers humiliate employees until they cry, Black people feel alienated, and the toxic culture 'eats away at your soul'Sex, tequila, and a tiger: Employees inside Adam Neumann's WeWork talk about the nonstop party to attain a $100 billion dream and the messy reality that tanked itInsiders say WeWork's IT is a patchwork of cheap devices and Band-Aid fixes that will take millions to fixWeWork's toxic phone booths were created in-house by its Powered by We business70-hour weeks and 'WTF' emails: 42 employees reveal the frenzy of working at Tesla under the 'cult' of Elon MuskElon Musk works so many hours at Tesla, employees are constantly finding him asleep under tables and desksHow this woman went from a Pizza Hut employee to a founder of a $4 billion startupAn Oracle insider explains how some salespeople gamed the system to sell more cloudTHE TAKEDOWN OF TRAVIS KALANICK: The untold story of Uber's infighting, backstabbing, and multimillion-dollar exit packagesMicrosoft is in talks to buy GitHub, a startup at the center of the software world last valued at $2 billionThe alarming inside story of a failed Google acquisition, and an employee who was hospitalizedInside Facebook's plan to eat another $350 billion IT marketHow a registered sex offender wound up living in an Airbnb hosting unsuspecting guestsA controversial ex-banker is the person who really runs Twitter — and he's gambling the company's future on one risky betSecret passages and skipped meals: Oracle's CEO gave us a rare peek at what it really takes to run a $37 billion companyHP told some employees to choose between becoming contractors with no benefits or being fired without severance'I felt like we were being extorted': Customer says Oracle tried to strong-arm him into a cloud saleHow the queen of Silicon Valley is helping Google go after Amazon's most profitable businessAirbnb host: A guest is squatting in my condo and I can't get him to leaveLIES, BOOZE, AND BILLIONS: How one of the fastest-growing startups in Silicon Valley history raised $580 million then spiraled out of controlGitHub is undergoing a full-blown overhaul as execs and employees depart — and we have the full inside storyWhen she's not writing for Business Insider, Julie can usually be found on the trails, on my mountain bike, or on my skis, if you know where to look.
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