Microsoft breaks Surface, announcing family of Windows 8 tablets

Microsoft entered new territory Monday evening, announcing the Surface family of tablet computers. The first devices, which feature 10.6-inch 16:9 HD screens and a unique 3 mm-thick touch-sensitive cover that provides a full keyboard, will be "comparable [to] ARM tablet or Intel Ultrabook-class PCs" -- thin, light and high-performance, in short -- according to the press announcement. It will be available in Windows 8 and Windows RT versions, sporting front- and rear-facing cameras, Office 365 and the recently unveiled Windows 8 apps. Steven Sinofsky talks about the development of the People, Mail and Calendar apps on the Building Windows 8 Blog. There are plenty of developer and IT angles to explore, so stay tuned for blog postings from the teams contributing to this, dare we say it, revolutionary device.