What is Microsoft’s New Surface Tablet?

Today, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced the release of Microsoft’s

newest product, the Microsoft Surface tablet, designed to compete with the iPad. Microsoft Surface is a

soon to be released product from Microsoft designed as a software and hardware combination technology.

The Surface will allow a user to manipulate digital content by the use of natural motions, hand gestures, or physical object. The product provides

effortless interaction with digital content through natural gestures,

touch and physical objects

However, the Surface is more than just a tablet, it also has many of the

features of a computer as well. According to GadgetBox, the

following are some of the features of the new Microsoft Surface:

…the Surface won’t just be on the Nvidia ARM processor, like the

iPad. There will also be a Surface that runs on Intel-based processors,

to run a full-blown version of Windows 8 Pro.

The ARM-based Surface tabs will come in 32GB and 64GB configs, and will ship around the time of Windows

availability. They will be priced to compete with other ARM tablets

(presumably, in line with iPads.) The Intel-powered Windows 8 Pro Surface

tablets will come 3 months later, in 64GB and 128GB configs, priced to

compete with ultrabooks.

According to www.ProgrammerWorld.net, the

following are the Surface’s specifications:

Microsoft Surface Specifications :

Dimensions : Surface is a 30-inch (76 cm) display in a table-like form factor, 22 inches (56 cm) high, 21 inches (106 cm) deep, and 84 inches (214 cm) wide.Body and Build : The Surface tabletop is acrylic, and its interior frame is powder-coated steel.Installed Memory: 2 GBDisplay Type: Flat panel displayNetwork Support: Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Bluetooth 2.0, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11gOperating System: Microsoft Windows VistaInput Devices: Touch-screen

At a high level, Surface uses cameras to sense objects, hand gestures and touch. The intuitive

user interface works without a traditional mouse or keyboard, allowing people to interact with

content and information by using their hands and natural movements. This user input is then processed and the result is displayed on the

surface using rear projection.

How does Microsoft Surface work?

1. Screen:

A diffuser turns the Surface’s acrylic tabletop into a large horizontal “multitouch” screen, capable of processing multiple inputs from multiple users. The Surface can also recognize objects by their

shapes or by reading coded “domino” tags.

2. Infrared:

Surface’s “machine vision” operates in the near-infrared spectrum, using

an 850-nanometer-wavelength LED light source aimed at the screen. When objects touch the tabletop,

the light reflects back and is picked up by multiple infrared cameras

with a net resolution of 1280 x 960.

3. CPU:

Surface uses many of the same components found in everyday desktop computers — a Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM and a

256MB graphics card. Wireless communication with devices on the surface is handled using WiFi and

Bluetooth antennas (future versions may incorporate RFID or Near Field

Communications). The underlying operating system is a modified version of

Microsoft Vista.

4. Projector:

Microsoft’s Surface uses the same DLP light engine found in many rear-

projection HDTVs. The footprint of the visible light screen, at 1024 x 768

pixels, is actually smaller than the invisible overlapping infrared projection to allow for better

recognition at the edges of the screen.