Microsoft Surface Tablet Specs, Price: Company Defends Low Resolution, Does Google's Nexus 10 Have the Trump Card?

With Microsoft set to unveil its first tablet venture, the Surface, on Oct. 25 the company is finally promoting the device, trying to stoke user excitement. There's one thing Microsoft likely isn't advertising, though: The Surface's inferior resolution.

Microsoft clearly views its first tablet as a revolutionary product, and wants the public to view it that way, too. So, why didn't the company come out swinging at competitors with a higher display resolution for the Surface RT than its 1366x768? According to Microsoft, the company is betting consumers either aren't savvy enough won't notice, or just plain won't care. Sounds like a huge gamble to us.

In a recent Microsoft Surface Q&A on Reddit, the company defended its choice regarding the screen resolution.

"Screen resolution is one component of perceived detail. The true measure of resolvability of a screen called Modulation Transfer Function (MTF), not Pixels. MTF is a combination of both contrast and resolution. There are over a dozen subsystems that effect this MTF number. Most folks just focus on one number out of dozens that effect perceived detail. Without good contrast, resolution decreases," wrote Stevie Bathiche, an applied sciences department manager at Microsoft.

According to the Microsoft representative, as resolution/DPI increases, the eye becomes less sensitive, meaning that the amount of light in a room and the reflections off the screen have a huge effect on the contrast of the display. Apparently, a small amount of reflection can greatly reduce contrast and thus the perceived resolution of the display.

"With the ClearType Display technology we took a 3 pronged approach to maximize that perceived resolution and optimize for battery life, weight, and thickness. First prong, Microsoft has the best pixel rendering technology in the industry (ClearType 1.0 and 2.0), these are exclusive and unique to Windows, it smoothes text regardless of pixel count. Second, we designed a custom 10.6" high-contrast wide-angle screen LCD screen. Lastly we optically bonded the screen with the thinnest optical stack anywhere on the market; something which is more commonly done on phones we are doing on Surface," explained Bathiche.

Microsoft's unofficial current ClearType measurements on the amount of light reflected off the screen is around 5.5 percent - 6.2 percent, whereas the new iPad has a measurement of 9.9 percent mirror reflections.

"Doing a side by side with the new iPad in a consistently lit room, we have had many people see more detail on Surface RT than on the iPad with more resolution," stressed Bathiche

Of course, what Batchiche fails to mention is that Apple's third-generation iPad, with its 2048x1536 display, dwarfs the Surface's resolution. And if the rumored Google/Samsung Nexus 10's specs are accurate, 2560x1600, Surface's screen looks even less impressive.

Google's tablet will sport a 10.1-inch screen, with a pixel density that is higher than Apple's iPad 3, said Richard Shim, an analyst at NPD DisplaySearch.

The display will be 2,560x1,600 and will have a PPI of about 299, Shim added, confirming CNET's purported specs. If this is to be believed, Google have definitely made it a point to best the iPad's 264 PPI on Apple's 9.7-inch Retina display.

"It's going to be a high-end device," said Shim. A stark contrast to Google's other rumored, lower-end tablet, the $199 Nexus 7, and upcoming $99 tablet.

Microsoft Surface tablet features

The RT sports a 1366x768 HD screen, while the PRO has a 10.6-inch Clear type Full HD (1920 x 1080) screen with 16:9 widescreen.

That means they are among the biggest tablets in the market. If you are not satisfied with the typical 10.1-inch tablet, you can go for the Surface tablet. Along with the touch keyboards with the device, you can turn the machine to a small notebook.

The Surface tablet comes with five Touch Covers. Different from typical keyboards, the Surface keypads provide a smoother typing experience thanks to their touch-based surface.

The Surface tablets mount both front and rear cameras. The front camera, named life cam by Microsoft, makes the tablet ideal for video chatting through Skype or other services. Using the rear camera, you can capture images and video clips.

Microsoft puts forward better memory options with the Surface tablets. The device comes in 32GB, 64GB and 128GB options. The 128GB is available only with Surface Pro. Further, you can expand the memory using external memory sticks thanks to microSD card slot. That is, you can store enough data including music, software items and video in external clips.

The 3mm Touch Cover can be connected to your Surface tablet with a single magnetic click, so, now you can type text and send messages quite easily.

The Surface's tablet housing features a revolutionary kickstand. Along with fully functioning keyboard and track-pad, the integrated kickstand helps you place the gadget in both portrait or landscape modes.

According to Bloomberg, Surface will only be able to go online using a short-range Wi-Fi connection. This is a stark contrast to Apple's iPad 3, which has a 3G option, and a faster LTE connection.

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