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Surface advanced industrial design detailed

by on19 June 2012

Surfacethumb

VaporMg casing, touch cover and integrated kickstand


We already told you that the Surface it’s a 10.6-inch tablet with magnetic attachable keyboard, but we haven’t told you that it edges are angled at 22 degrees, what Microsoft claims be the natural position for PC use.

Hardware is supposed to be in the background, letting the software and user experience stand out, but making this claim and wanting to sell me us tablet does not sound like a great idea.

The VaporMG (pronounced Vapor-Mag) casing is a unique approach which represents a combination of material selection and process to mold metal and deposit particles that creates a finish akin to a luxury watch. Magnesium is definitely involved and it allows Microsoft to mold it as thin as 0.65mm which is thinner than a typical credit card, and at the same time making it very light but rigid and strong.

Surface has an integrated kickstand, a part of VaportMG casing that can help you putting your tablet on the table and watching a movie. From what we understand the attachable keyboard cannot support the tablet, you still need to use the kickstand. Asus used a different approach in its Transformer tablets, as it integrated a battery in the keyboard dock to balance the device in notebook mode. Of course, Microsoft’s approach, sans battery, should be cheaper.

Touch Cover uses magnets to attach to the Surface tablet and it uses unique pressure sensitive technology. Touch cover senses keystrokes as gestures and this should enable you to touch type significantly faster than on the screen keyboard.

It comes in many colors and every teenage girl will be happy to know that pink is one of them. [Every teenage girl already has an iPad. Ed]

In professional parlance, the magnet is called “built in magnetic connector” and it is forming a natural spine like the one you can find on a book, and at the same time it works as a protective cover.

There is an alternative a 5mm thin type cover that adds moving keys for more professional typing.

You can get a few more details at the official webpage here.


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