surface

Yesterday, Amazon announced new Kindle devices one of which may give Microsoft's Surface RT a bit of competition. The Kindle Fire HD 8.9-inch is due to ship on November 20th and start at $299 and top out at $599 (64GB 4G LTE model).  The Surface RT is rumored to become available at the end of October and pricing is still a mystery.

The Kindle Fire HD will sport an 8.9" 1920 x 1200 touchscreen at 254 PPI (there's also a 7" model that starts at $199). The tablet is powered by a TI OMAP 4470 processor and Imagination SGX544 graphics engine. You have a few options to choose from with the Kindle Fire HD 8.9-inch. There is the 16GB and 32GB models with Wifi as well as 32GB and 64GB models with 4G LTE.

Looks like Microsoft might be trying its hand at a viral advertising campaign in the lead up to the release of its Surface tablet.  The advertising, in the form of hipster compatible urban art has been spotted in a couple of locations such as the one above in Brooklyn. The pseudo graffiti seems to continue with the imagery we first saw at the Surface reveal.  The theme is of an elegant two-part diagram, depicting tablet with detachable keyboard.

The Surface device is going to be big news for Microsoft on a number of levels. Surface is not only going to be the first Microsoft designed computer, it will be the poster child for Windows 8. When we see the new OS advertised and demoed, we can be pretty certain it will be on a Surface tablet. We’re expecting a marketing tsunami with the combined Windows 8 and Surface product launches. 

In a recent interview with Bloomberg, David Schmoock who's head of North American operations for Lenovo, gave some fairly specific pricing points for both Windows 8 tablets and the more consumer-focused RT variant running ARM processors. It's the most specific data on pricing that has been presented so far on the new but elusive Microsoft category.

There has been some wild speculation as to how much these Windows RT tablets would cost with Surface proving to be the focus of some of the more controversial pricing 'guestimates', going from thousands of dollars to just $199. 

Say what you will about Microsoft and Apple but the two companies either appear to be the only adults in the room or alternatively, they have formed an alliance against Android. Or maybe both.

Evidence has come forth in the Apple-Samsung trial that the former has licensed so-called ‘design patents’ to Microsoft, which indemnify them against lawsuits from Apple over their Windows Phone and Surface tablets. This may partially explain why Apple was trying to collect patent royalties from Samsung in their late 2010 offer to the company.

For a long time, Windows Phone users have speculated about the possibility of a Tablet based on the OS. It never happened, but even now, I’m left wondering if Windows Phone is the more capable and desirable portable computing experience.

Microsoft are on the cusp of releasing Windows 8 and with it we see the software giant plunging head first into the world of true mobile computing. They have dug in deep and hammered away at the core of Windows to enable new, mobile orientated computing experiences. At the same time we also have Windows Phone 8 getting ready for primetime. Windows Phone is now reaching its first major upgrade, and it's about to fully mature.

Given the right form factor it's an OS that could work better as a tablet than Windows 8, and here is why...

Images of a Sony Android tablet have been leaked on German news website Mobiflip. According to the slides, if they're anything to go by, the Sony tablet looks incredibly familiar, almost as if we've seen such a design previously. The Microsoft Surface range of Windows 8 tablets were unveiled earlier this year and sport the same look with a keyboard built into the cover. This Sony tablet, branded as "Xperia Sony Tablet", will sport a number of improvements over the current Sony Tablet S.

There is one noticeable difference between the cover seen on the Surface tablets and on this possible Sony product. The cover -- while sporting a similar keyboard -- appears to wrap around the device, as opposed to clipping on the side. Also, Sony's cover will fold back to form a kickstand, eliminating the requirement for an extra accessory. Think a Microsoft-Apple hybrid.

We updated yesterday's story on the Microsoft Surface Tablet price possibly costing more than $1,000 but wanted to make sure the update got out. For those who didn't catch the original story, Swedish website Webhallen.com listed the Microsoft Surface tablet at a price of 6990 krone (about $1,160 US) with Fourth Quarter 2012 availability.

This took us (and everyone else) by surprise because earlier speculation had pricing in the $399-599 range.

Swedish website Webhallen.com is listing Microsoft Surface tablet pricing on its site. If these details are correct then pricing would be substantially higher than previously thought. Of particular interest here is the cheapest Arm based WinRT device, a 32GB model, showing up costing around £648.00 or $1000.

It had previously been suggested that WinRT tablets would be priced relatively in line with current ARM based tablets. If we were to rule out Android tablets and aim at the higher end iPads for a price guide then comparatively, the Surface is going to be much more expensive. Currently you can pick up a 32GB Wi-Fi only iPad for about £479.00 or £579.00 for the 3g variant. In either case, that puts the Surface well above the current market leader. Even if the Surface device is to be 3g enabled it would still be £70 more expensive in comparison. It has been rumoured that the Surface is not 3g capable, if that’s the case then the price gap leaps to £169.

Mark Osborn, creator of the Windows Phone app Articles for Instapaper, is just in the process of uprooting from the UK and moving to the the US. We had been in touch with Mark for a while as he had shouted me on twitter to tell us about his Instapaper Client for Windows Phone.  For those not familiar, Instapaper is a free web service that lets you save web pages and articles to read later.  With Articles for Instapaper, you can tap into your Instapaper account from your Windows Phone to read your articles.

We were just in time to catch him before he headed off to frolic in Europe one more time before he left and had the opportunity to sit down, drink too much coffee and chat about the old, the now and the next.