surface

Drip, drip, drip.

The Redmondians are continuing to torture us Microsoft watchers with a slow flow of information about the company's bet-its-business launch.

We already knew Microsoft planned to launch Windows 8 and its ARM-based Surface RT devices in New York City on October 25, thanks to a save-the-date invitation we got a while back. We knew those products would become available commercially the following day, and we found out this week that Microsoft would be opening 30-plus holiday pop-up stores in the U.S. and Canada on October 26 as well.

As of October 4, we now know … Read more

Microsoft is teasing its Surface tablet by listing the device on several product pages around the world.

Microsoft product sites in the U.S., the U.K., Germany, France, and Italy are just some of those showing Surface as an item under the product category.

But clicking on the link for the tablet simply brings you to a U.S. page on Surface with the note "Coming Soon."

Microsoft has been mum on about the price of its upcoming tablet.

CEO Steve Ballmer recently said that Surface would probably carry a price between $300 and $800. That's … Read more

Earlier this summer, rumors swirled that Microsoft was going to make its own Windows Phones and maybe even market them under its Surface brand. This week, that rumor is back, thanks to China Times and now Boy Genius Report.

Why does this rumor keep recurring? It's either because it's true, or because Microsoft's top brass won't, once and for all, quash it if it's not. And that leaves the door wide open for speculation.

When rumors first surfaced (pun intended) that Microsoft might make its own Surface Windows Phone, Microsoft fueled the fires with its … Read more

When Microsoft unveiled its Surface tablets earlier this year, Intel executives were shocked.

Microsoft started developing its self-branded tablets -- including one that uses an Intel chip -- without notifying Intel or asking for help. Intel, like many of Microsoft's other partners, didn't find out about Surface until shortly before the event, and it did not play a role in the announcement. Microsoft decided to go it alone, much like rival Apple has done.

Microsoft's decision represents new territory for the software and chip giants -- collectively known as the Wintel alliance to many in the industry … Read more

I think those who are predicting Microsoft's coming Surface PC/tablet hybrids will fail if they don't beat the iPad on price are wrong. I think the Microsoft Surface will fail if Microsoft fails to prove the devices are premium products worth premium prices.

We still don't know exactly how Microsoft intends to price the Surface, though CEO Steve Ballmer telling The Seattle Times he considered the "sweet spot" for the PC market to be between $300 and $800. We know Microsoft execs are continuing to insist tablets are PCs. So I guess that means … Read more

I think those who are predicting Microsoft's coming Surface PC/tablet hybrids will fail if they don't beat the iPad on price are wrong. I think the Microsoft Surface will fail if Microsoft fails to prove the devices are premium products worth premium prices.

We still don't know exactly how Microsoft intends to price the Surface, though CEO Steve Ballmer telling The Seattle Times he considered the "sweet spot" for the PC market to be between $300 and $800. We know Microsoft execs are continuing to insist tablets are PCs. So I guess that means … Read more

Don't dismiss the PC, is the tenor of a lot of the responses to a Saturday post where I addressed the coverage of Apple and the iPhone 5 last week.

"For a working man like me, the PC is a serious piece of machine. It puts food on my table. As for the smartphone, the phone is important. No doubt about it. What makes it smart also turns it into a toy. But a toy is still just a toy," -- that's a pretty typical comment I got.

And another: "Actually, the technology in the … Read more

If you had hoped for truth behind the rumors that Microsoft's tablet would sport a sub-$200 price tag, Steve Ballmer has dashed those hopes.

Microsoft CEO's has been pretty outspoken about how his company was going use its new Surface tablet to turn up the heat on Apple, but he's been pretty tight-lipped about how much it expects its Surface to cost -- until now. Noting that "we haven't announced pricing," Ballmer, Seattle Times during an interview, did give a better idea what the company has in mind for a target price.

"… Read more

Intel will disclose a new series of ultra-power-efficient chips aimed at tablets and convertibles at the Intel Developer Forum next week.

The Intel 4th Generation Core chips, codenamed "Haswell," will come close to cutting the power consumption in half compared with the most power-efficient mainstream 3rd Generation Core "Ivy Bridge" chips today.

Ivy Bridge chips used today in the skinniest, lightest laptops like the MacBook Air and Hewlett-Packard's Envy Spectre XT are rated at 17 watts.

The new chips, due in the second half of 2013, will be rated initially at 10 watts -- that … Read more