The competition in the tablet market seems to be sound enough to fuel rumors. The latest speculations are about the Microsoft Surface Mini, a small-sized Windows 8 tablet. Microsoft has been planning to introduce a small Surface tablet to compete with Apple’s iPad Mini and Google’s Nexus 7.
Right now the tablet market is anticipating the launch of the high-end Samsung Galaxy Note 3, Microsoft Surface Pro 2, Surface Pro Mini and Samsung Google Nexus 11. The Galaxy Note 2, launched last year, caused Samsung to outpace Apple and is still moving at the same speed. However, the Surface range did not affect Apple’s market.
This time, it seems like Microsoft is planning on a tablet that will perform shoulder to shoulder with the iPad Mini 2. The Surface Mini is expected to feature a 7.5-inch display with a resolution of 1400 x 1050 pixels, an Intel processor chip, and an upgraded Window Blue 8.1 OS. By comparison, the iPad Mini 2 will feature a 7.9-inch Retina display with a resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels, an A7 processor chip and the latest iOS 7 operating system.
At the 2013 Computex event, Windows CFO said that future Windows 8 tablets will get free Office 2013. Microsoft will probably let out its mini-range of tablets after the next version of Windows 8 is ready. Acer’s 8-inch Windows 8 Iconia W3 is expected to belong to the small-tab series. Its rumored specs include 2GB RAM, Atom processor, and 32GB/64GB internal storage.
Rumors also say the Microsoft will come up with an Xbox-compatible small-size tablet running on Windows 8 or RT. While recent developments convey that Microsoft will launch a series of small-screen Windows tabs running on the next gen Windows 8.1, there are no clues on release date.