Microsoft has been sending out invitations for an event to be held on the 20th of May in New York City. The invitations are entitled ‘join us for a small gathering’, this has led to further speculation that Microsoft will be unveiling a mini Surface tablet. This speculation is founded as Microsoft themselves have said that they are working on different aspect ratios and sizes for the Surface range but have yet to mention any date of release although it is thought that a product may arrive in Spring this year. Could this be the event that provides us with these details, seems likely?
Rumours of a mini Surface have been circulating for over a year now, if true then the Surface will truly be stepping into the ring with the iPad in terms of proportions and will hopefully boost the Surface’s sales as they have not been as success as first anticipated. The anticipated Surface mini will apparently feature a 7.5 inch screen with 1440 x 1080 pixel resolution and a 4:3 aspect ratio. It will also more than likely be running Windows RT; Microsoft‘s cut down operating system for mobile devices that is designed to not be too heavy on battery life.
To make the product competitive and a success for Microsoft the price will have to be accessible to the masses with the aim to undercut the iPad. The original Surface is priced around £279 in the UK so we would expect it to be the similar in price or less. Doing this should give Apple some competition assuming it is a reliable and capable tablet.
In conjunction with this ‘small gathering’, Microsoft have not long launched Windows 8.1 and announced the arrival of the Surface 2 with 4G in the UK for the 8th of May. This will be priced at £539 and is currently available for pre-order.