Does the Surface Use Microsoft's MagSafe-style Connector?
Could we be seeing Microsoft's version of the MagSafe already?
Just last week, a newly public patent application revealed that Microsoft was at least thinking about a MagSafe style connector capable of delivering both data and power. Now it seems rumors say Redmond could be debuting this new connector and port with its just-announced Surface tablets.
Hands-on time with the device last night revealed a strange-looking and unfamiliar port on the side of the tablet. One of Engadget's readers noticed that the port in question looks curiously like the MagSafe-style port detailed in last week's US patent application. The application illustration shows a four-prong connector with a configuration much like the one seen in the picture below.
Microsoft didn't provide an awful lot in the way of nitty gritty details last night, so we're still in the dark about many aspects of the Surface, including this strange port. Still, with several months until the tablet hits the market, Microsoft has plenty of time to talk details. We're just hoping they won't wait too long.


There is nothing to stop this technology being used in any kind of device from smartphones to laptops, who knows, mini-usb was so widely used by phone companies for this is was practically an industry standard, maybe this could become the next industry standard. You put the patent in for the sole purpose of opening it up for everyone to use with no fear of litigation, that would be nice.
My electric water boiler also uses a mag safe power cord and that's way before Apple came up with the idea.
Yeah, that's the problem with the patent system today. You can take a pre-existing invention, use it on a different product (e.g. magnetic power cord... On a computer!), and get a brand-spanking new patent on it. Doesn't matter if the patent wouldn't stand up in court, the court costs alone will dissuade most competitors from challenging it.
Microsoft is apparently side-stepping it by adding data in addition to power. But when you boil it down, it's still just a bunch of wires mated with a bunch of wires at the correct orientation using magnets.