The company is now sending out invites for a new press event in New York

May 6, 2014 06:21 GMT  ·  By

We already knew that Microsoft was working on a smaller version of the Surface, but the company now seems to be prepared to launch the device during a press event in New York.

According to a report by Neowin, Redmond is now sending out invites for an event taking place on May 20 in New York, but no specifics are available right now. However, the invite reveals that this is a private press event and is not open to the public, with doors to open at 11am EDT / 8AM PDT.

Previous reports indicated that the Surface Mini could come with an 8-inch screen and run Windows RT 8.1 Update, but people familiar with the matter said that Microsoft wants to use it to compete against the iPad mini and the Nexus 7.

What's more, some rumors even indicated that the Surface Mini could be marketed as a note-taking device, so it could also come with a Wacom digitizer to help users easily write down text.

The Surface Mini is expected to come with several customizations that in the end are supposed to enhance battery life and offer longer autonomy than the models currently available on the market.

As far as pricing is concerned, the Surface Mini is very likely to come with a very low price tag specifically supposed to compete with the two aforementioned devices. Microsoft wants to aggressively price the Surface Mini, so the device could retail for as low as $250 (€180).

Expanding the Surface product lineup is one of the company's priorities right now as part of the One Microsoft reorganization plan started by former CEO Steve Ballmer last year. Microsoft is trying to focus more on devices and services, so launching new Surface models is a must.

Nonetheless, many have claimed that Microsoft could be late to the small tablet party, as plenty of hardware manufacturers already launched similar devices, but the software giant has no intention to give up on plans to bring more tablets to the market.

A recent report revealed that Microsoft is losing money for every Surface it sells, so it could still take a while until the tablet business generates some profit for the company. Microsoft executives are still very optimistic with the small Surface, but it remains to be seen whether this new tablet has the potential to boost revenues or not.

More information will most likely emerge in the coming weeks as we get closer to the launch date, so we'll keep you posted.