A small gathering? We doubt it. Microsoft is currently dishing out invitations to the press for a Surface-related event taking place on May 20 in New York City. This will be a private, closed event, so the public won’t know what’s going on until the press breaks the news. This event will likely be for the Surface Mini announcement: the words “small” and Surface” are our two clues.
So it’s about time, right? So far sources have claimed that the company has worked on this model for a few years at the least. They also said that the official unveiling would take place sometime around BUILD 2014 (April) and Computex 2014 (June). The invitation puts us right smack in the middle of both speculated/rumored release dates.
Just recently we reported that accessories vendor Vostrostone (VSTN) has the tablet on display via is Amazon listing, showing Microsoft’s 8-inch gadget in a Bluetooth keyboard stand case and an ultra-thin smart cover case that has “specifically designed cutouts for Microsoft Surface Mini tablet" so that the user has "access to all ports and controls." The covers will be in stock on May 18.
Back in April we also reported that the Surface mini may include a built-in Wacom digitizer so that the consumer can use a pen-like stylus instead of the fat and round versions (think Tegra Note 7). This will be the tablet's biggest selling feature, as the Surface Mini, according to sources, is all about taking notes with a real, digitizing pen.
Unfortunately, there’s little detail in regards to the specs. The tablet will either have a 7.5-inch or 8-inch screen: probably the latter thanks to the highly-competitive Kindle Fire HDX 8.9. This display will also have a 1400 x 1050 resolution, backed by Windows RT 8.1 and an ARM-based SoC. Could this device use Nvidia’s new Tegra K1 chip? Or the Tegra 4 at the least?
Naturally the rumor mill will begin heating up over the next few weeks as we get closer to the launch party. Expect plenty of leaks regarding its appearance and specs.
