XBox Surface: Microsoft's New Gaming 7 inch Tablet

Back in June, leaked documents regarding a device “Xbox Surface”. The specifications of the device hinted on it being a dedicated 7-inch tablet for gaming. From a recent report from The Verge an insider source at Microsoft confirmed that Xbox Surface is not a piece of fiction – the company is indeed making a 7-inch tablet for gaming. For the time being many things are still foggy to have a detailed report on the device, but from what’s already known, Microsoft might be initiating a direct rivalry against the likes of PlayStation Vita and Wii U tablet controllers.

Xbox Surface is still in its initial hardware planning stage, so even the core architecture is subject to change. It would probably run a ‘custom’ designed ARM processor (may be the TI CPU). There’s also a chance that Microsoft may switch to an Intel SoC. As expected from any gaming device, Xbox Surface will have high bandwidth RAM.

It has been confirmed that the details and specs mentioned in the leaked document are accurate. Xbox Surface will have a 1280-by-720 HD display. It would come with an SD card slot and for connectivity WiFi and Bluetooth.

It won’t run Windows 8 or its RT version. Xbox Surface will come with its own Windows kernel. Its look and feel will most probably be based on the Windows 8, but it won’t be Windows 8. It’s actually disappointing that Microsoft doesn’t introduce platform uniformity. This OS would probably be designed so as to take the best out of cheaper hardware while drawing less power.

There is a crucial question which still remains unanswered – whether Xbox Surface will be a tablet which is dedicated for gaming or will be sort of a tablet controller like Wii U. The thrust of confusion is the mention of standalone hardware’ in the document leaked in June.

Xbox Surface would be manufactured at the same factories where Surface tablets were manufactured. Following the leak in June, Microsoft had locked down many Xbox factories and restricted employee access to the project. Microsoft has developed a secret hardware manufacturing process and has been operating independent of its traditional manufacturing partners.

It remains to be seen how Xbox Surface impacts the gaming sphere. Microsoft is certainly late in entering the gaming hardware, with simply a tablet controller. Sony and Nintendo have already had enough shares in that. However, if Xbox Surface is a dedicated gaming tablet, it might be a fresh breath in the high-end gaming.

This Guest Post is by Akshay Jain from GetPRed.com representing cloud services, making business processes simple and affordable.