News & Reviews:   Microsoft Surface Mini

In Microsoft's recent "small gathering" the company went on to reveal the largest Surface tablet to date with the official announcement of the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 tablet. While we thought the "small gathering" hint was pointing at a Surface Mini tablet it was in fact about the Surface Pro 3, which is probably the thinnest tablet in the Surface range. Going for a magnesium casing like the Surface Pro 2, this super thin tablet features a 12-inch display but is 100g lighter than the Surface Pro 2. The bigger screen has a resolution of 2160 x 1440 resulting in 216ppi pixel density. 

While Microsoft's upcoming event still hasn't happened yet, quite a few rumours about what could be coming to the event have popped up. This includes the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 and Surface Mini tablets. Estimated pricing for the tablets have the Surface Mini coming at $799 (RM2569) with an Intel Core i3 processor, 4GB of RAM and and 64GB of storage. The Surface Pro 3 may come from $1949 (RM6268) and sport an Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. New tech specs and features that have appeared indicate that the Surface Pro 3 could have a larger 12-inch screen as opposed to the 10.6-inch display on the current Surface Pro 2, perhaps suggesting that the Surface Pro 3 isn't a replacement but a new model in the Surface range of tablets. Rumours also indicate that the Surface Pro 3 will be thinner than the Surface Pro 2. The Surface mini on the other hand is expected to pack in a 7.5-inch display with 1080 x 1440 pixel resolution with a 4:3 aspect ratio. The Surface mini will also have Active Pen support and instead of the earlier reported built-in kickstand, will have an accessory cover for that purpose. With the unveiling set for tomorrow, stay tuned for more developments.

The Microsoft Surface Mini remains one of those as of yet unannounced rumours but Microsoft have since come out with an invite for a "small gathering" on 29 May 2014, hinting that they could be announcing the Surface Mini tablet there. Currently, rumours have the Microsoft Surface Mini sized with a 7.5-inch display with 1440 x 1080 pixel resolution and 4:3 Aspect Ratio to compete directly with the Apple iPad Mini. Previous versions like the Microsoft Surface and Surface Pro use a 16:9 Aspect Ratio. Other tech specs and features include an NVIDIA Tegra processor, Windows RT, 2GB of RAM, 32GB / 64GB of storage and no built-in kickstand. It is expected to have WiFi and LTE versions. The dealbreaker remains the pricing though as the other Microsoft's other Windows RT installed tablets only started selling well when they hit below RM1K pricing. Again, no news on Malaysia pricing or release dates but stay tuned for more developments.

While we've heard of a smaller Microsoft Surface Mini tablet from the Microsoft Surface range of tablets before, some other tech specs and a concept render have also recently surfaced. Apart from a previously revealed 8-inch 1080p display, the Surface Mini is said to also offer air gestures, be powered by an Intel Bay Trail chipset and arrive in 2014. While it is still unclear how the Surface Mini would implement air gestures (either through proximity sensors, IR sensors or LeapMotion like sensors) the feature certainly sounds interesting as is the concept render of the Surface Mini tablet. No Malaysia pricing or release dates were available though but we'll keep you updated.

Microsoft continues slogging on with their Surface range of tablets as reports show that Microsoft are currently working on 3 new Surface tablets. Surface Pro 2 will be the Intel Haswell refresh of the current Surface Pro while the Surface 2 will be the revamp (hopefully replacement) for the Surface RT tablet. The third Surface tablet looks to be something in the 7-inch to 8-inch range as it will be named the Surface Mini. Perhaps Microsoft is getting impatient for other manufacturers to come out with their 8-inch Windows 8.1 tablets and is working on a reference design. However, if the Surface Mini gets priced much higher than the others but has the same tech specs this won't serve Microsoft very well.