
Microsoft has unveiled Surface, a tablet computer to compete with Apple’s iPad.
CEO Steve Ballmer was on hand to announce the new tablet, calling it part of a “whole new family of devices” the company is developing.
One version of the device, which won’t go on sale until sometime in the fall, is about 9.3 millimetres thick and works on the Windows RT operating system. It comes with a kickstand to hold it upright and a touch keyboard cover that snaps on using magnets. The device weighs under 680 grams and will cost about as much as other tablet computers. Its debut is set to coincide with the upcoming fall release of Microsoft’s much-anticipated Windows 8 operating system.
Steven Sinofsky, president of Microsoft’s Windows division, called the device a “tablet that’s a great PC PC that’s a great tablet.”











