pixelsense
Latest
Microsoft's Surface Pro 6 puts quad-core CPU power in a thin tablet
While the Surface line has been a leader in the convertible device market, competition is coming from all angles, including Lenovo's Yoga line, Apple's iPad Pro and even the leather HP Spectre Folio that was just unveiled. Last year's Surface Pro brought refinement to Microsoft's top-of-the-line convertible device, while staying incredibly light with great battery life. Now it's time for a refresh and the Surface Pro 6 comes with updated 8th generation Intel Core CPUs combined with up to 16GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD all wrapped in black, blue, red or "platinum" grey. As shown by the leak earlier, it's sticking with same charging connector and USB 3.0 ports (no USB-C here). The design hasn't changed much, keeping that ubiquitous hinge and Surface Pen close by, and it's sticking to a 3:2 aspect ratio that helps maintain usefulness as a tablet. The 2,736 x 1,824 12.3-inch display is improved, at 267ppi and -- according to Panos Panay -- the best contrast ratio they've ever achieved. There's also an 8.0MP HD rear-facing camera to go with its 5MP / 1080p front-facing camera used for Windows Hello and video calls.
Is this Microsoft's new Surface Laptop?
Tomorrow Microsoft is holding its #MicrosoftEDU event where we expect to find out how it will take on Google's Chrome OS, but some of the news may have already leaked. Notorious Microsoft watcher @h0x0d tweeted out a few images of a slim 13.5-inch laptop that apparently runs Windows 10 S -- a cloud-optimized version of Windows that only accesses apps from the Store -- has a PixelSense display, comes in four colors and features an Alcantara-covered keyboard. We've seen that material on a Surface Pro 4 keyboard before, and the other specs line up for a laptop that could take on computers from Chromebooks to MacBooks. Interestingly, the 360-degree view only reveals a few ports, which could be USB, DisplayPort and a headphone jack, plus a Surface Dock connector on the other side. The pictures certainly appear legit and this tweeter has come up with the goods before, but the mix of parts, materials and "Windows Cloud" OS that follows up on the failed Windows RT is a little confusing. We're expecting to find out more tomorrow morning starting at about 9:30AM ET.
ICYMI: Microsoft throws everything into mixed reality
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Microsoft introduced a bunch of new products this week but the darling might be the new Surface Studio, with 65% more pixels in it than a standard 4K monitor. Meanwhile Anheuser-Busch teamed with self-driving truck company Otto for a beer run demo through Colorado. Finally make sure you send your virtual reality friends this fail of a VR mountain climber so we don't all learn the same lesson. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
Microsoft to acquire Perceptive Pixel, pair up with 82-inch touchscreen manufacturer
Microsoft has already expressed its fondness for Perceptive Pixel's gigantic capacitive touchscreens, which became apparent during a live demo at the company's Windows 8 presentation at Mobile World Congress earlier this year, but now that friendship has become a bit more official. During Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference keynote in Toronto this morning, Steve Ballmer announced that Perceptive Pixel would be coming in-house, with Microsoft acquiring the display maker. The move seems to be in line with the company's recent shift to hardware manufacturing, beginning with last month's Surface introduction and its reinforced commitment to the recently renamed PixelSense smart table solution -- MS has just seized an opportunity to get a bit more hands-on. Full (limited) details are in the press release after the break.
Microsoft pilfers Surface name from its smart table, now called the PixelSense (video)
If Microsoft's recent Surface announcement made you think about a funky LED table, that's because it wasn't long ago that a joint effort with Samsung bore that moniker instead. While Redmond appropriated the name for its new tablet, the two companies are still selling the original device -- now the Samsung SUR40 with Microsoft PixelSense -- as a business collaboration tool. Though there's no mention of price on Samsung's site, the last time we checked, the 1920 x 1080 gorilla glass device was running a mere $8,400. For that sum, it might be useful for deep pocketed institutions -- so hopefully early adopters hoping to earn some hipster cred didn't end up with buyer's remorse. [Thanks, swaggernaut812]
