Acer has renewed its commitment to Windows 8 and Windows RT tablets, with chairman JT Wang saying that the company's criticisms of Microsoft's Surface don't mean it is ditching its Windows slate plans. The company made headlines after criticizing Microsoft's own-brand hardware, arguing that the tablets would "create a huge negative impact" to the Windows ecosystem. Now, DigiTimes reports the Acer CEO Wang has tempered his comments, though still believes that Surface will do more harm than good.

The Microsoft slates one of which will run Windows RT, the other Windows 8 will be more negative overall than positive, Wang says, but Acer still intends to launch its own products running the new OS. In fact, Wang claims to be "the most optimistic CEO" about Windows, claiming that the company's concerns were around understanding "the new rules of the game".

Microsoft, he said, was now considering possible differentiation strategies to minimize any possible impact on OEM partners, including introducing an artificial price gap. Still, it sound like Acer's expectations of Surface are somewhat skewed in the first place; Wang supposedly claimed that the major damage would be done if Microsoft priced the entry-level tablet at $199 thus directly competing with the Nexus 7, a figure which would be very unlikely. If Surface was $499-599, however, Wang sees less of an issue.

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After launching the Surface tablet, Microsoft is willing to enter the handheld gaming market. The company is now said to be building a 7-inch gaming tablet named the Xbox Surface. Moreover, the hardware is in its final stages, and specs should concur with earlier leaks from June.

Microsoft has developed a secret hardware production process for its Surface tablets that is separated from partners that traditionally manufacturer the company's Xbox console. We're told that the Xbox Surface will likely be manufactured in the same factory, but that any future "Xbox 720" console will be manufactured in mass quantities by companies like Pegatron or Foxconn.

Also, we've just got this leaked document shows the Xbox surface tablet Hardware Specifications, Looks like Microsoft want to lead the windows tablet market.

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Microsoft's hardware partners are definitely not happy about the Microsoft Surface. Moreover, Acer chief executive spelled it right out, straight and honest to Microsoft: "It is not something you are good at so please think twice."

That was the advice JT Wang, Acer's CEO, gave to Microsoft about its upcoming Surface tablet. The reason is that the device will compete directly with other tablets from manufacturers like Acer, HP, Dell and others, and this alone would be "negative for the worldwide ecosystem."

Wang reiterated that Microsoft should think twice, and while other manufacturers have kept comfortably quiet, it seems that the Acer chief executive is spelling out the thoughts of not just Acer, but other companies as well.

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According to an anonymous tipster, briefed with Microsoft's plans for its Surface tablets launch at the TechReady 15 conference, Redmond is evaluating an option to launch the Windows RT slate at the very competitive $199 price point, eating the difference in production costs, if any.

This Surface-for-$199 rumor might actually have legs, since Acer's CEO JT Wang, who was very vocal to protest publicly against Microsoft's decision to enter the tablet business with hardware of its own, commented that $199 price would hurt all other Win RT vendors significantly:

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Microsoft has just announced its own tablet brand "Surface", which blurs the line between tablets and ultrabooks. The 10.6-inch slate features simplistic design and compact measures, while offering a full Windows 8 experience.

Microsoft's latest creation will be offered in two flavors. The entry level one will run Windows RT for ARM based chips, while the fully tricked out version will be running Windows 8 Pro. The screen size on both versions will be 10.6″, but the Windows 8 Pro units will offer full HD resolution.

The Windows RT version is 9.3mm thin and weighs 676 grams. It will come with 32 or 64GB of built-in memory and the connectivity suite will include microSD, USB 2.0, MicroUSB HD Video Out, 2×2 MIMO antennae. Expect the tablet to become commercially available around the time when Windows 8 gets launched, with a price in line with its rival offerings, according to Microsoft.

Microsoft Surface Photos

The Windows 8 Pro version of the tablet will come much closer to being a full-blown PC. It will be thicker and heavier than its Windows RT running sibling at 13.5mm and 903 grams respectively. The Pro Surface will come with more built-in memory as well. You will be able to grab a 64 or 128GB version of it. The connectivity suite of the Surface pro will include microSDXC, USB 3.0, Mini DisplayPort Video, and 2×2 MIMO antennae. The Surface Pro will be available about three months after the entry-level version of the slate. It is said to be priced in line with similarly equipped ultrabooks.

Today, a source close to Microsoft has provided us with corroboration of rumored Microsoft Surface pricing, putting the Tegra 3 powered Windows 8 RT model at $599 retail and the Ivy Bridge packing Windows 8 Pro model at $999 retail.

Microsoft Surface initial models will be WiFi-Only, the pricing would be initially comparable with the 32GB WiFi iPad. The specifications of the Surface, however, especially the 1366×768 screen, wouldn't make it as attractive an option at that price when compared to a the Retina-display-packing iPad. It would also price it above the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 and other comparable ARM tablets, which run in the $399 range.

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A couple of days ago Microsoft unveiled its Surface tablet and while it said that Surface is not a direct competitor to the iPad, it's clear that Apple's tablet plays a key role in why Microsoft ever decided to build their own tablet.

Here is a Video below that compare between Steve jobs's iPad and Steve balmer's Surface, Enjoy watching!

Microsoft promoted for the surface tablets line-up with pictures of poeple working on office with the tablet. In these pictures there is a phone that looks a little different than any model that has appeared before.

This Smartphone could be the Microsoft Surface Phone, a model of which is allegedly being holed up in Studio H at Microsoft's Redmond campus.

This obviously is a prototype device and might not even be the final design of a Microsoft Surface phone. Anyway, we can expect a Microsoft branded smartphone by Next year but meanwhile we'll get more rumors and leaked prototypes.

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