Microsoft has sent out invites to its upcoming Surface-centric event that include the word “small”, suggesting a new mini version of the struggling Surface line of tablets.
Rumours have been floating around for a while now considering a pint-sized tab from Microsoft, but surprisingly nothing concrete has leaked. If the mini does exist then its continued secrecy is a result of a herculean security effort, a distinct lack of interest from the tech community or a combination of the two.
The event is expected to be hosted at least in part by new CEO Satya Nadella, with ex-Nokia CEO Stephen Elop potentially standing in the wings as a recently restored Microsoft employee.
What to expect
Any new tablets from Microsoft are unlikely to have had any influence from Nokia’s mobility division. The two companies have only very recently merged and, while they have been working closely together, Nokia continued to focus on its own products right up until it was officially absorbed.
The Surface mini is expected to be a note-taking tablet with built-in stylus support like that found on Galaxy Note devices. The difference would be that the Surface mini would come running the full Microsoft Office suite and Windows 8.1 or 8.1 RT.
We’re also reminded of a rumour from a while back that suggested Windows Phone 8.1 would include support for 7-10 inch tablets. This would certainly be easier for Microsoft to build from a hardware standpoint, as the WP operating system requires far less computing power and memory to run efficiently.
We won’t know anything for certain until the tablet is (or isn’t) announced on the 20th, but we’ll put our money on it continuing the Windows or Windows RT trend and not making its name as the biggest Windows Phone device ever released.
Source: Microsoft-News
Alex Angove-Plumb
Digital Content Editor
