Telecom Lead America: Microsoft has unveiled a family of home-brewed tablets, marking
a tough competition to Apple iPad, USA Today reported.

The mobile friendly tablet is built on the new Window 8
operating system which rolls out this fall. The Microsoft Surface Pro and
RT tablets will be built in-house.

The new Microsoft Surface will feature a 10.6-inch wide display
with Gorilla Glass, a full-size USB port, dual Wi-Fi antennae, a
multitouch keyboard, a trackpad. The device comes with its own stand. The thin form
factor –it’s only about a half-inch thick– is another attractive feature.
Models will come with either 64 gigabytes or 128 GB of storage.

“We believe that any intersection between human and
machine can be made better when all aspects of the experience “” hardware and
software “” are considered and working together,” Microsoft CEO Steve
Ballmer said at launch even held for select audience at Los Angeles. “Today
we want to add another bit of excitement to the Windows 8 story,” he
added.

“With Windows 1.0, we needed the mouse to complete the
experience,” said Ballmer. “We wanted to give Windows 8 its own
hardware innovation. Something new, different, a whole new family of computing
devices from Microsoft.”

Microsoft is entering the tablet market at a time when PC
sales growth is slowing and consumer interest in tablets like iPad is growing.  Tablets still haven’t overtaken PCs, but they
have great potential. However, for Microsoft the journey through the
Apple-dominated market will not be easier, according to analysts.

Apple leads global media tablet market in first quarter.

ABI Research said the media tablet market shipped 18.2
million devices in Q1 2012, registering 185 percent y-o-y growth.

Samsung is the second largest tablet player. Its 1.1 million
shipments returned the vendor to the number two spot after Amazon’s Kindle Fire
shipments fizzled entering 2012.

According to ABI Research, Apple is leading the media tablet
market in the first quarter of 2012 with nearly 65 percent of worldwide units
supplied.

Will Nokia launch tablet on Microsoft Windows platform soon?

Considering the growth of Apple and Samsung in the media
tablet market, tablet strategy is a must for Nokia, TelecomLead reported
recently.

Nokia is planning to enter in the tablet market to
strengthen its market share and compete with leading manufacturers such as
Apple and Samsung. In a recently given interview, Nokia design Chief Marko
Ahtisaari said that he is spending a third of his time on creating a tablet for
the cell phone maker, which would stand out among hundreds of iPad-challengers.

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