surface

Microsoft Surface Pro to get half the battery life of Surface RT

How much does battery life matter to tablet users? Microsoft may soon find out, first hand.

Microsoft went public today with pricing for its Surface Pro PC/tablet devices -- the Intel-based ones running Windows 8 Pro that will allow users to run their existing third-party apps on the desktop. The 64GB version will be $899; the 128GB version, $999. (Both prices include a pen, but no touch or type keyboard/cover. So add another $120 to $130 for that.)

Pricing is not all the team shared about the Microsoft-branded Surface Pros, due out in January 2013.

Surface Pros are … Read more

New Microsoft ad Scroogles on the Surface

Since yesterday, you might have already changed your online shopping search methods.

You may have been so moved by your fear of being Scroogled that you immediately decided to Bing every little thing.

No, I am taking an excessively early tipple.

Yesterday, Microsoft launched a site called Scroogle. It informs you that all Google's shopping searches are paid for by companies. It tells you the only honest searches are on Bing.

And now I have bumped into what appears to be a TV spot that tells you the same thing in an even more dramatic way.

Here we have … Read more

Surface Pro price tag: $899

Ever since Microsoft unveiled the Windows RT Surface and its much more PC-like Windows 8 Surface Pro sibling, the big question has been about price. Well, consider the question answered: the Surface Pro will cost $899 for a 64GB version, and $999 for 128GB of storage.

A full ultrabook-level Intel Core i5 processor, 10.6-inch 1,920x1,080-pixel display, 4GB of RAM, and an included Surface Pen are some of the Surface Pro's distinguishing features. Those sexy Touch Covers and Type Covers, both of which are compatible with the Surface Pro, will be sold separately. The real question, of … Read more

Ballmer sees 'unprecedented opportunity' for Microsoft

You need a thick skin to be a CEO -- and an especially thick skin when you're the chief executive of a legendary software company whose stock has been flat for a decade.

But bolstered by strong early returns from Black Friday sales, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer nonetheless struck a confident theme today as he addressed shareholders, sketching out a picture of a company in the midst of a once-in-a-generation transformation.

"It's been a tremendously big year for us," said Ballmer, speaking at the company's annual shareholder meeting in Bellevue, Wash. He was clearly on … Read more

Reed Hastings says Microsoft's real test is Windows 8

Windows 8 is a much higher priority for Microsoft than the Surface v. iPad battle, according to Reed Hastings.

Hastings, CEO of video-rental service Netflix, was on Microsoft's board until stepping down last month. In a meeting with Dow Jones reporters, Hastings reflected on the challenges facing Microsoft.

"They got a better set of competitors than they've ever had, in Google and Apple, on different sides," said during the meeting according to All Things Digital, which is owned by Dow Jones. "So they've got some big, interesting competitive battles... I use the Surface. It'… Read more

Episode 21: Unboxing Google's Nexus 4 phone and Nexus 10 tablet

We're back, and just in time for the holiday shopping season! Welcome to the pre-Black Friday episode of Always On: the unboxing extravaganza.

This episode alone features Google's two new pure-Android Nexus devices -- the LG Nexus 4 and the Nexus 10 tablet. I so wanted to love the Nexus 4, since I'm definitely in the market for a pure-Android device, but I'm skeptical (as is our CNET reviewer, Lynn La) about the lack of 4G LTE in the unlocked model. Then again, I don't have to sit around worrying about it since the phone … Read more

Analysts turn negative on Windows 8 prospects

Windows 8 got pummeled today by analysts, who cited it as a major factor in tepid PC growth.

The launch of a new Microsoft operating system rarely, if ever, goes smoothly. But Windows 8 is having an especially bumpy takeoff.

The first reason Deutsche Bank listed today for cutting its PC estimates this quarter was a "lackluster initial uptake of Windows 8," in a research note from analyst Chris Whitmore.

After citing the impact of amorphous factors like "macro weakness" and the "fiscal cliff," Whitmore continues.

As in past cycles we expect the introduction … Read more

Microsoft starts Black Friday sale a day early

Microsoft is starting its Black Friday sale early this year by making most of its deals available on Thursday morning, according to a teaser on its site.

The company starts deals for its software and hardware at 12 a.m. Thanksgiving Day, except for its Surface tablet-related deal. That sale is reserved for Friday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

Consumers who purchase a Surface bundle can save $50 on a second Touch or Type cover. The deal starts on Friday, ends on Sunday, and is limited to five per customer.

Other deals, like saving up to $… Read more

O, Oprah! Tweeting your love for the Surface... on an iPad?

In life, you have to get your story straight. Especially if you're a public figure. If your story becomes crooked, you might too -- even if it's a mere accident.

It's hard to know, for example, whether Microsoft's new Surface is one of Oprah's favorite things or not. It was very much on her recently-published list. She compared it to a Mercedes.

This might only mean, sadly, that she believes her iPad is a Ferrari.

For, in tweeting her continued love for the Surface, she made something of an O-Pas. Yes, she used her iPad. … Read more