While there are plenty of laptops running Windows, those laptops usually come from third-party manufacturers like Toshiba and Lenovo.
Unlike Apple, Microsoft historically has tended to focus on creating software rather than hardware (with the Xbox being a major exception). Microsoft has only recently started putting out their own computers, like the Surface Pro series of laptop-tablet hybrids.
And now, Microsoft finally has its own laptop, the Surface Book—which happens to also be a tablet. It’s a little confusing how to differentiate between this new Surface Book and the Surface Pro series. Microsoft considers the Surface Pro series to be tablets that can replace a laptop, while the Surface Book seems to be a true laptop that can transform into a tablet. Yes, that is still kind of confusing.
Essentially, the Surface Book is Microsoft’s answer to Apple’s Macbook Pro, a high-end sturdy, portable machine built for power, and it looks to be a serious contender.
The Surface Book features a superior 267 ppi (3,000 x 2,000 pixel) 13.5-inch touchscreen display, with a 5-Megapixel front-facing camera and an 8-Megapixel camera on the back. It’s powered by a sixth-generation Intel Core processor, Intel HD Graphics, and 8 to 16 GB of RAM with PCIe flash storage from 128 GB to 1 TB. The laptop has a hefty 12-hour battery life. All of this is encased in a brushed magnesium body, with a custom backlit keyboard and a high quality glass trackpad. Other features include 2 USB 3.0 ports, an SD card reader, a Mini DisplayPort, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.0
The screen size is actually a 3:2 aspect ratio display, a little taller than most laptop screens. This is an effort to create the “paper pad” shape for when you detach the keyboard and use the device like a tablet.
Yes, just like the Surface Pro, the keyboard is detachable. However, there is a major difference between the Surface Pro keyboard and that of the Surface Book. The laptop’s keyboard actually contains additional hardware to increase the performance of the device if the display is connected, such as a second battery and, most importantly, an optional NVIDIA GeForce GPU to greatly increase the graphical capabilities of the machine. Detaching the keyboard allows you to continue to use the device as a tablet, but powered by the Intel HD graphics chip in the display.
To assist in its tablet functionality, the Surface Book will also come the Microsoft Surface Pen, which magnetically attaches to the side of the display.
Microsoft’s new laptop will hit retail on October 26. Prices start at $1,499 for the lowest end model with a Core Intel i5 CPU, 8 GB of RAM, and 128 GB flash storage. The highest end model will go for $2,699 for a Core i7 CPU, the NVIDIA GPU, 16 GB of RAM, and 1 TB storage.
You can watch Microsoft’s own product reveal video here.
By Alfredo Dizon, eParisExtra