The Surface Book laptop has 13.5-inch display with a resolution of 267 pixels per inch and a glass trackpad. Pricing for the MacBook Pro starts at $1,299. In releasing the new phones, tablet and laptop, the company is seeking to attract consumers and developers to the operating system, which works across a variety of devices from phones to game consoles.
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The touchscreen of the Surface Pro 4 has been upgraded to ensure compatibility with the new Surface Pen, which has 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity. Dell, Acer and many other companies develop laptops with customized Microsoft software, and it’s unclear how the Surface Book might affect relationships with those partners. To the human eye it’ll be tough to see the difference.
Microsoft Corporate Vice President Panos Panay introduces the Microsoft Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL at a media event for new Microsoft products on October 6, 2015 in New York City.
Microsoft also rolled out the Surface Pro 4 and again positioned it as a laptop replacement particularly for business customers. However, the cover is also available separately for $129 and is backwards compatible with the Surface Pro 3.
The Surface Pro 4 tablet, 30 percent faster than the previous version, is 8.4 millimeters thick and comes with 1 terabyte of storage. The Surface now generates more than $3.5 billion in revenue for the company a year, Terry Myerson, Microsofts vice president of Windows and devices, said Tuesday.
The Apple Pencil, which remains charged for an hour and can be repowered via Lightning cable that connects directly to the tablet, is trumped significantly by the Surface Pro 4’s Pen, which comes with a digital eraser and interacts directly with Windows 10 to launch applications like OneNote and Cortana. That capability will be of value for professionals and students who want to be able to run desktop programs like Photoshop, AutoCAD, and Lightroom among millions more while having the possibility to enjoy mobile apps from the Windows Store like Netflix, Facebook, Twitter, etc. While the Windows Store remains poor compared to Apple’s App Store, it is expected to grow quickly thanks to features like Universal Apps and the sheer popularity of Windows 10, which has so far been installed on more than 110 million devices since its release on July 29th.
The Surface Book, Surface Pro 4 and new accessories are available for preorder in select markets Oct. 7, then for purchase in Canada and the United States on Oct. 26, with additional markets to follow.
Just a month ago, Apple unveiled a new iPad. Plus, Microsoft also had to cut thousands of staff.
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But since the Surface Pro 4 includes the stylus (which Apple charges $99 for) and keyboard, packs more power and a better screen perhaps that price is justified.
