surface

Microsoft is making it cheaper and more convenient for consumers to personalise hardware. To join the deal that has been featured in Europe, Microsoft has unleashed a free Touch (including limited editions) and Type cover offer for consumers when Surface RT Windows 8 tablets are purchased. It's a limited time offer and has only just kicked off, but we're pleased to see such a bundle arise to help push more units.

Microsoft has a goal for its well-received line of Windows 8 tablets, according to Paul Thurrott. Sources have revealed the company plans to take up and maintain 50 percent of all Windows tablet sales in the coming year with their Surface lineup. Microsoft already achieved this figure in Q1 2013 when Surface hardware took 50 percent of the Windows tablet pie, but there's more to the story.

As consumers continue to wait patiently for the Surface Pro to launch in the UK, Microsoft has kicked off an interesting deal for its Surface RT Windows 8 tablets. Should you look to purchase one from the official online store or supporting retailers, the company will hand you a free Touch or Type cover per transaction.

WPDownUnder has managed to confirm just how much the Surface Pro tablet will cost consumers in Australia. Sourcing two participating retailers (Harvey Norman and JB Hifi) who have the Windows 8 tablet on their systems, the RRP (recommended retail price) of Microsoft's high-end product is now publicly available, so be sure to start saving those coins. 

We have covered this story before: Microsoft made a special SKU of Surface (Intel processor powered) for China, replacing Windows 8 Pro with Windows 8, but pre-loaded with permanently licensed Office 2013 Home & Student. To many, not necessarily Chinese, this version is even more desirable than the stock Surface Pro. However, according Panos Panay, the leader of the Surface team at Microsoft, such region-specific SKU won't happen anywhere else, unless strong enough consumer interest is shown.

Sources within Microsoft revealed to the Wall Street Journal that the Redmond company is set to unveil a 7-inch tablet later this year. It will be part of the Surface family and launch alongside other Surface branded devices.

It’s “Patch Tuesday”, the traditional day where Microsoft tends to push out some major OS fixes and updates and while it used to be a big Windows day, it’s increasingly more important for Surface owners. That’s because the Surface, a work in progress, is constantly getting tweaked for performance and usability. Today is no different.

Both the Surface RT and Surface Pro have numerous updates queued up for installing, including a few for Office 2013. The bigger deal though is the included firmware, which once again will hopefully fix a few lingering issues some of you may still be having.

Microsoft China posted an update on popular social network Sina weibo earlier today that Surface Pro, the Surface tablet/ultrabook that's built on Intel's desktop processor, will be available on 9:00pm, April 2nd (Beijing time). Microsoft announced on its official blog that Surface computers will be available in more markets in 2013, and China will be the first new market for Surface Pro.

The Chinese version of Surface Pro will be sold through Suning, the partner who was partly responsible for the lackluster sales of Surface RT in that region. But this time Microsoft isn't giving anyone "exclusive dealership" any more, for it has established its own Microsoft Store (online only) in China, and built an official store on Tmall.com, China's largest B2C e-commerce platform ever.

Sure, props for your Xbox LIVE avatar are gimmicky and they can be quite absurd, but we still love ‘em. We also love our Surface, so when the two collide, we can’t help but get a little gitty.

If you head over to the Xbox site and follow this link, you’ll be able to add the “Windows 8 Tablet Avatar Prop” to your collection. Yes, that’s right.