Is Microsoft planning a new 7" Xbox-focused Surface?
Today it has been rumoured that Microsoft is planning to develop a super-secret new piece of hardware which, if the rumour is correct, will be quite closely linked to the upcoming Xbox 720!
However, with this one it looks like the emphasis will be on game-play rather than browsing and productivity, things which Microsoft's new Surfaces' are said to excel in! Leaks earlier this year suggested Microsoft would tailor their design along similar lines as Nintendo have done with their Wii U, although one would expect Microsoft's solution to be somewhat sleeker than Nintendo's!
Otherwise the specs for the rumoured tablet look good; a 7-inch 1280 x 720 display, Bluetooth, WiFi, and a 2.4GHz custom link between the tablet and the console. There's also reported to be a bumper 5GB of memory, along with a custom 28nm AMD GPU that'll come with its own 1.2GB of GDDR5 RAM. To top off the whole package, the rumour says there'll be a 250GB 10,000 rpm HDD which will be partly consumed by a custom OS built from the Linux kernel. It will not be Windows 8 or Windows RT!
Extra weight has been added to this rumour because Microsoft recently locked down a bunch of Xbox-centric buildings in Silicon Valley! The Redmond guys even went so far as limiting employee access to the company's Interactive Entertainment Business division, we'll have to see what the future holds!
Via The Verge and the specs below via Slashgear.
In other news:
- Just a day after we reported that Microsoft was planning to discontinue Windows Live Messenger in 2013, this will also involve merging the vast majority of Windows Live accounts into Skype.
- A new version of Opera, specifically 12.10, has been released today which adds support for support for high-DPI screens.
- Microsoft's new Surface tablets might be slightly misleading when it comes to the 32GB and 64GB storage options. Unfortunately the sheer size of the bloatware and pre-installed software makes the 32GB Surface able to hold only 16GB of data. This also means the 64GB only has 45GB of usable storage.
- DisplayMate have today said that Apple was breaking their tradition of offering superb screens with iPad Mini. They instead said that the iPad mini has "just a very capable display."
- Apple is rumoured to be ditching Intel in future Macs, as the company may have intentions to make use of their own chips much like they do in their iPads.
And finally, Rovio have officially launched the first gameplay trailer of Angry Birds Star Wars! Check out the video below!
