New York – One of the more interesting things the Microsoft Surface tablet can do is drop from 72 different positions and still remain intact.
Another more comical use for the Surface is theSurface-as-a-Skateboard. Both Surface architect Panos Panay ofMicrosoft and his boss Steven Sinofsky, the president ofMicrosoft’s Windows and Windows Live division, came out onstage during the launch event here trying to ride a Surfacetablet mounted onto skateboard wheels.
The stunt was funny, but it also was done to make the point that theSurface is a sturdy product.
But besides the gimmicky items of the Surface, Panaydemonstrated the tablet’s Touch Cover, which comes in fourcolours (blue, pink,white and black) and two types (tactile and thin).
Priced at $129 the magnetically-attached Touch Cover and Type Coverclicks on and off the Surface tablet. It can be used with thekick-stand that is on the back of the tablet. The kick-stand hasthree hinges and according to Panay is designed to click.
The 10.6-inch Surface running Windows RT goes on sale Friday witha price point of $499 for the 32 GB model, which waspredicted. The Windows 8 Pro version is scheduled to bereleased at the beginning of 2013. The Surface has a USB portthat can connect to 50 different printers that are currentlyon the market. It also supports a microSD card.
Panay said that the Surface was designed to extend the Windows8 capabilities especially through touch. The Surface comeswith Office 2013 featuring productivity apps such as Word,Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and new apps such as Skype and Outlook.com.
“Users will get a seamless transition. They can consumecontent, play, and it was designed to give the users avisceral response. But
people will still need to use the device to get stuff done,”Panay said.
An example of this is when you make a Skype call, thekick-stand squares up the camera app to the user. The lensalso shifts when the user changes camera angles.
Panay added that the Surface can do everything a laptop does.He pointed out that in back of the stage, the presentationalong with the lighting and the guest list were done on a Surface usingExcel, PowerPoint and an app with wireless signals forlighting control.
And with OneNote you can take notes in a meeting that you are alsorecording.