14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is expected to debut some new Surface tablets during a small event in New York next week, but little is known at this point about the devices that will take the stage during the conference.
However, the company revealed today that the entire show will be webcast, so in case you haven't received an invitation to the New York event, you can still watch the new CEO Satya Nadella talking about Microsoft's efforts in the tablet industry.
“The Surface team has an event coming up next week in New York City. Invitations went out to a select group of press last week, and while the venue doesn’t allow us to invite you all to be there, we’re hoping that you’ll join us via a live webcast of the event that will be presented by the Microsoft News Center,” the company said in a blog post today.
Microsoft is yet to announce the executive lineup that will take the stage next week to discuss about the new Surface, but Satya Nadella will definitely be there, as he did at basically all recent event after his appointment as company CEO.
“The webcast will begin at 8am Pacific Time (11am Eastern). For specific details on the webcast, visit the Microsoft News Center on Tuesday, May 20th. You should also follow Surface on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with all the latest,” Microsoft added in a very short memo.
The event is very likely to witness the debut of the Surface Mini, Microsoft's first small tablet that could compete against the iPad mini and the Nexus 7. Sources close to the matter hinted that the Surface Mini could come with an 8-inch screen and be positioned as a note-taking device, which means that a digital pen is very likely to be included in the package.
What's more, some people suggested that a bigger Surface is also expected to be announced at the conference, possibly with a 12-inch screen and designed to compete with laptops. Of course, the 12-inch Surface would come with the full version of Windows 8.1 and would also offer support for desktop applications, just like the Pro model that's already available right now.
At this point, it's not yet clear whether the bigger Surface would be sold as Surface Pro 3 or Microsoft is preparing a completely different name to emphasize that it comes with a bigger screen than the ones on the market.