Articles about Surface
Surface Pro 2 dim screen of death snafu STILL happening after patch
A December update for the Intel-based Microsoft Surface Pro 2 tablets has been pulled as it was making things worse.
It was supposed to fix a problem which resulted in the screen dimming to such an extent it was unreadable, but led to greater issues.
The withdrawal of the patch was, however, too late for some users who …
Best Buy: Bring us your cowering, unwanted Microsoft Surface masses
US retail giant Best Buy is taking back unwanted Microsoft Surface tablets under a trade-in programme.
The company that helped launch Surface RT one year ago has added Surfaces to a list of other consumer computing devices you can now trade in.
Best Buy is offering between $79 and $350 to buy back your unwanted first-edition …
Second-gen Surface and Surface Pro rumored to be minor upgrades
More details have begun to trickle out regarding Microsoft's second-generation Surface fondleslabs, which are expected to ship in the fall.
On Wednesday, Neowin reported that new versions of both the Intel-based Surface Pro and the ARM-based Surface running Windows RT were in the works.
Windows-watcher Paul Thurrot later …
Microsoft: Surface is DEAD. Long live the Surface 2!
Undeterred by its critics, Microsoft has torn the wraps off Surface 2: its upgraded Windows 8-powered tablets, now with faster processors, better graphics, a load of new accessories, and not one but two kickstand positions.
Surface Pro 2 with docking station The Surface Pro 2 with its new docking station
Redmond has already …
Microsoft yanks Surface 2 DIM SCREEN of DEATH fix in update snafu
A software update supposed to stop Surface slabs overheating has been yanked by Microsoft – because it’s making matters worse.
Microsoft is pulling a December 10 firmware update for Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 and won’t re-issue another one for the over-heating issue until after Christmas.
Users who’d installed the patch had …
What do you mean there are no Surface Pros? HAND 'EM OVER, yell Microsoft resellers
Microsoft has yet to correctly forecast production of Surface Pro machines to match demand with supply, and shortages could continue into the summer.
Or so say channel partners working under the authorised device reseller programme, which want Microsoft to recruit more hardware experts to iron out creases that continue to exist …
LIVE CHAT: You, El Reg, experts chat about Win 8.1 and Surface 2
By the end of next Tuesday – 22 October – Microsoft will have played all of its Christmas cards.
Two new Surface slabs will have officially launched and Windows 8.1 will be working its way through shops, PC makers and download servers.
Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 will bring new chips and graphics processors to make things …
Hello! Still here! Surface 2! Way better than iPad! says slightly desperate Microsoft
Microsoft has attempted to revive the fortunes of its ailing fondleslab Surface 2 with a comparative ad campaign that pits the blue tablet against the latest iPad.
In a pair of YouTube polemics, Redmond tells the world exactly what the iPad doesn't have: a kickstand, hands-free gestures and a way of monitoring your kids' online …
Microsoft advertises Surface, Excel with maths mistake
Microsoft's Surface tablets have again embarrassed the company's bottom line, this time after failing to calculate a simple one accurately.
The problem was spotted by folks at Apple Insider who noticed a San Francisco billboard advertising Redmond's latest tablet. When they peered at it closely in the image below, they noticed …
Microsoft pulls Win 8.1 RT code which upgraded Surface 'slabs into BRICKS
Microsoft has quickly backpedalled on its Windows 8.1 update, pulling it from the Windows Store after reports that it was bricking Surface tablets.
In this post at its Answers site, Microsoft explained the withdrawal of the update:
“Windows RT 8.1. Microsoft is investigating a situation affecting a limited number of users …
Microsoft to unveil new Surface slabs at September 23 event
Microsoft will launch the second generation of its Surface fondleslabs at an invitation-only event to be held in New York City on September 23.
The company teased the event with invites emailed to media on Monday that gave few details, other than making very plain that Surface will be in the limelight. Even the invitation's text …
Microsoft cuts Surface Pro price by $100
Hot on the heels of last week's revelation that Surface sales are utterly terrible, Microsoft has again cut the price of its Surface tablets.
This time it's the Pro version that gets the discount, with $100 (US) removed from its price as of 4 August.
One small ray of sunshine is that the price cut may not be permanent. The page …
Microsoft Surface Pro sales CANNIBALIZING Surface RT
The bad news just keeps coming for Microsoft's vaunted line of Surface fondleslabs, with sources reporting that sales of the devices continue to disappoint.
Redmond has sold just around 1.5 million of the devices to date, Bloomberg reports, citing sources who claim knowledge of the company's sales figures.
That's a little more …
Now swallow: Microsoft hands out cure for Surface RT tabs killed by Win 8.1
Microsoft has quietly released a recovery image for Surface RT tablets rendered unusable by bugs in last week's upgrade to Windows RT 8.1.
The image can be downloaded here, along with a short instruction sheet explaining how to create a bootable recovery drive using any PC running Windows 7 or later and any USB drive larger than …
Microsoft: We're nearly OUT OF STOCK of Surface 2 and Pro 2
Microsoft says it is nearly out of stock of its forthcoming Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 fondleslabs, though what that means in terms of actual sales figures is anybody's guess.
Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 are close to selling out. All those buyers are gonna need apps. Your move: http://t.co/YGWmjklfuB
— Microsoft Developer (@ …
Microsoft store staff to hold all night vigil for Surface 2
Microsoft is planning a midnight launch for its next-generation Surface fondleslabs, to be capped by a performance by rapper Pitbull.
Reg readers may recall that Redmond pulled a similar stunt when it launched the Surface RT last October, holding witching-hour events at the 32 pop-up stores it opened for the holiday season. …
Microsoft exec selling his Surface tablet
Just when you thought enthusiasm for Windows 8 and the Surface tablet could not possibly get any more tepid, a Microsoft New Zealand employee intends to sell one of the devices.
Kiwi tech news site spotted Techday spotted a Tweet from Nigel Parker, leader of Microsoft New Zealand's Developer & Platform Group at Microsoft New …
Microsoft wields turkey knife, slices Surface to $199 for Black Friday
The day after Thanksgiving has come to be known as Black Friday, a day on which all manner of brands drop their pants prices in order to get US punters to open their wallets.
The practice is now spreading worldwide and there's some tasty offerings around the world.
The most notable discount is probably Microsoft's $US199 offer …
Storm slings water to Saturn's surface
Water has been spotted on Saturn for the first time.
Astroboffins believe that gas giants comprise layers of different substances, including water, but lacked substantial evidence to support that theory.
A colossal storm that hit Saturn's northern hemisphere back in 2010 has helped them out, because the Cassini probe was close …
Surface Pro 2: It's TOOL-PROOF and ultimately destined for LANDFILL
We knew that Microsoft's Surface Pro 2 tablets wouldn't stray too far from the original Surface Pro design - but according to the tool-and-part masters at iFixit, the new tablets are virtually identical to the old ones – meaning they're just as difficult to repair.
Surface Pro 2 with docking station The Surface Pro 2 looks a …
Microsoft Surface slabs borked by heat-induced DIM SCREEN OF DEATH
The latest generation of Microsoft Surface tablets are overheating, causing the screens to dim to the point they are unusable - but it's OK, people, Microsoft is onto it and a fix is coming.
Frustrated customers have taken to the Microsoft community forums to complain that the device runs hot when playing games, or while running …
Microsoft Surface 2 fondleslabs finally get off ground with airline order
How many of Microsoft's ARM-powered Surface 2 fondleslabs has it sold so far during the presale period leading up to the tablet's October 22 launch? At least 11,000, as it turns out, because that's how many were snapped up by US passenger carrier Delta Air Lines.
"Delta is rolling out these new tablets to replace the traditional …
Surface 2 MYSTERY: Haswell's here, so WHY the duff battery life?
Microsoft's Surface Pro 2 fondleslabs arrive on Tuesday, bringing various improvements over the first-generation models. But one area where the new tablets still don't wow is battery life – and that's a disturbing trend for Windows devices in general, some tinkerers have found.
As hacker Jeff Atwood and AnandTech's Anand Lal …
Microsoft: That $900m Surface write-down is smarting
Microsoft will today kick-start commercial channel sales of the little loved Surface RT and Pro, as our sources predicted, but the move is being pushed through ten months later than it should have been.
Redmond has already paid the price for its stubbornness: selling the device direct and latterly through a handful of retailers …
Microsoft Surface sales numbers revealed as SHOCKINGLY HIDEOUS
Microsoft's shares took a beating following its gloomy fiscal 2013 earnings report earlier this month, in which it wrote down nearly a billion dollars on its unloved Surface RT fondleslabs. But the software giant isn't out of the woods yet, because new details have emerged that have the full Surface picture looking even worse …
Microsoft sold out of Surface tablets in the UK... YEP, all 2,000 units
Microsoft may have sold out of Surface devices, but if the experiences of the UK channel are a measure for the rest of Europe, that's not saying a lot.
Sources tell us that fewer than 2,000 units landed at the shores of Blighty since Redmond cleared the way for a select band of nine resellers to start peddling its wares from 15 …
Microsoft ships Surface firmware fixes with April patch batch
Along with the usual Patch Tuesday fixes for Windows, Internet Explorer, and other software, Microsoft's April 9 updates also include hardware driver and firmware fixes for its Surface RT and Surface Pro fondleslabs.
The releases mark the fifth time Redmond has issued fixes for hardware issues with Surface RT, which shipped in …
Microsoft: Surface a failure? No, it made us STRONGER
Microsoft's Surface fondleslabs haven't been selling as well as it or its retail partners would have liked, but top execs say that building hardware in-house is an essential part of Redmond's strategy, and one that has already paid off.
Speaking at a meeting with financial analysts on Thursday, Microsoft chief operating officer …
Microsoft offers free keyboard covers for Surface RT
The TV ads for Microsoft's Surface tablets look like music videos, with happy Surface users snapping and unsnapping their fondleslabs from their keyboard-covers. There's just one problem: Surface doesn't come with a cover – until now, that is.
Previously, the Surface Touch Cover was available in five colors as a $120 add-on. The …
Microsoft loses cash on each Surface slab – but core biz strong as ever
Microsoft again reported solid earnings for the second quarter of its fiscal 2014 on Thursday, beating analyst estimates with figures that in some cases exceeded its own expectations.
Sales were up for Redmond's Devices & Consumer and Commercial divisions alike, for total revenues of $24.5bn (£14.73bn) for the three months …
Microsoft: We need a pro to flog our Surface slabs in UK
Microsoft UK is seeking a captain to steer the good ship Surface. The candidate will need a sturdy pair of sea legs to navigate potentially choppy waters and prevent it from running aground.
Ten-year Microsoft veteran and senior Windows consumer marketing man Rob Epstein is currently moonlighting as Microsoft's lead on the UK …
Surface Mini on shelves NEXT YEAR – and it will run Windows RT
Microsoft isn't done with its second round of Surface tablets, but a Mini version with an eight-inch or smaller screen and running Windows RT probably won't arrive until next year, according to the latest rumors.
Longtime Redmond-watcher Mary Jo Foley's sources say Microsoft is readying a pint-sized portable to round out its …
Google smacks Surface with free Quickoffice for Android, iOS
Google has reduced the price of its Quickoffice tool to nothing on Android and iOS, a move Microsoft won't appreciate.
Google scooped up Quickoffice about a year back and made it a part of Google Drive. Doing so meant Drive users could edit Microsoft Office documents.
The Chocolate Factory has now made Quickoffice available at …
Microsoft: You've got it all WRONG. It's Apple's iPad playing catch-up with our Surface
Microsoft's corporate mouthpiece and score-settler Frank Shaw has launched a war of words against the iPad, saying that compared to the Surface's pricing and productivity potential, Apple's slablet is "playing catch-up".
Blogging from Nokia World in Abu Dhabi, Shaw - who is perhaps best known for griping about what he saw as …
Lawsuit claims Microsoft misled investors in Surface RT fiasco
A US law firm has filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of Microsoft shareholders, alleging that Redmond misled investors when it failed to alert them to dismally poor sales of its ARM-based Surface RT fondleslabs.
According to a press release issued by the law firm of Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd on Monday, the suit charges …
Microsoft: Someone gave us shot in the ARM by swallowing Surface tabs
Microsoft has produced the name of a corporate customer in a fresh attempt to convince us Windows 8 is being adopted by businesses.
Unfortunately, and in a sign of just how desperate things have really become, that customer is ARM - one of Microsoft's co-conspirators on Windows RT and Surface RT.
The threadbare "news" comes …
Microsoft bigs up Surface Pro to 256GB for Asian markets
Redmond is starting shipments of a 256GB version of its Surface Pro fondleslab to Japanese customers from June 7, according to the local Microsoft website.
Microsoft is not even bothering to push the 64GB model to Japanese consumers and is just selling its current 128GB system and the new supersized version, for ¥99,800 ($986.62 …
Nemo cancels Microsoft's Surface Pro launch
Microsoft’s super-select, invitation-only Surface Pro launch event in New York has been cancelled thanks to a big fish.
The general manager of Microsoft’s Surface team Panos Pany tweeted that he wouldn’t be able to attend the event at Best Buy in Times Square because of blizzard warnings hanging over the New York City area. …
Despite Microsoft Surface RT debacle, second-gen model in the works
Nvidia's CEO says his company is working with Microsoft on a second-generation Surface RT, and that he believes it has a chance of success – even though the original Surface RT tablet was an utter flop – because it will include Microsoft Outlook.
"It is the killer app for Windows," Huang told Cnet. "Now we're going to bring it …
Dixons and Microsoft haggling over Surface RT Ts&Cs
Dixons Retail is currently thrashing out the terms and conditions to flog Microsoft's seemingly little loved Surface RT slab.
Sources close to the talks say a deal is on the cards but were unsure if it could be struck before the peak festive sales seasons begins in earnest.
"Dixons is likely to get it [Surface] but is still at …
SUPERSIZE ME: Nokia unveils Surface rival and 2 plumped-up phablets
Nokia announced a rival to its new owner’s Surface RT tablets today, along with its first two phablets, aka phondleslabs, at the final Nokia World partner event in Abu Dhabi today.
Nokia also disclosed that Vine and Instagram are coming to Windows Phone, making it a little easier to sell to that vital demographic of self- …
Microsoft 'in talks' to recruit UK partners for Surface Pro biz sales
Secret squirrel conversations are taking place between Microsoft and five B2B resellers over flogging Surface Pro to corporate customers, The Channel can reveal.
Up to now Microsoft has sold Surface Pro only via its webshop direct and through a few select UK retailers including PC World and John Lewis.
The device launched in …
Microsoft: Brits, grab our Surface Pro ten-incher for satisfaction in May
Microsoft's Intel-powered Windows 8 Surface Pro laptop-tablet-thing will arrive in the UK within the next six weeks.
But while Brits will be able to order the 10.6" touchscreen-keyboard hybrid direct from the software giant, companies in the IT distribution chain are unlikely to get their hands on pallets of the Pro until months …
Microsoft lathers up Windows 8.0 Surface RT for quick price shave
Microsoft is once again slashing the price of its unwanted ARM-based Surface RT fondleslabs.
The software giant has shaved 30 per cent off the price of a 32GB RT device now $349 and 25 per cent off the 64GB RT, now $449.
A 32GB Surface with a black Touch cover has been cut by 25 per cent to $449 and a 64GB unit with same black …
How to relieve Microsoft's Surface RT piles problem
Somewhere in Redmond (at least metaphorically speaking) are several very large piles of unsold Surface RT tablet components.
Why did the long-awaited and much-hyped ARM tablet running "Windows for ARM" Windows RT flop so badly, when ARM tablets running iOS for ARM from Apple are doing so well?
It's not just the Modern Windows …
Surface tablets snapped up on pre-order, but no camping in the street
They may not be sleeping on the street in hopes of being the first to get their mitts on it, but Brits do seem enthusiastic about the new Microsoft Surface tablet.
Preorders of the device have already sold out in the UK, the Microsoft UK site shows – at least the £399 32GB version. The £599 64GB version is still available.
A …
HP PC chief: Microsoft's Surface is 'KLUDGEY'. There, I said it
HP's chief of personal systems has branded Microsoft's Surface "kludgey" in a broadside against the new laptop-cum-tablet hardware.
Todd Bradley dismissed the fondletop in an interview with IDG's CITEworld, and said although the tech press is obsessed with it, the public couldn't care less about Microsoft's 10-inch offering. It …
It's NOT an iPad - but that's FINE: I learned to LOVE Microsoft's Surface 2
Microsoft’s first take on Surface RT was a disaster, culminating in a $900m stock write-down in July.
Curious then that the company has now produced the Surface 2 with a similar design, and also running Windows RT, the locked-down ARM build on which you cannot install desktop applications – only new-style apps from the Windows …
Microsoft preps UK Surface Pro 'pilot', tiptoes around Win 8 OEM rivals
Microsoft is still minding its Ps and Qs with OEMs competitors pals as it prepares to run a pilot for Surface Pro distribution in the UK.
As revealed by us last week, Microsoft is talking to five resellers in Blighty - Insight, Kelway, Misco, SCC and Computacenter - about taking the slab to business customers. It also planning …
Microsoft mulls 'Xbox Surface' slate for games
Microsoft wants to release a 7in gaming tablet, with hardware planning for an "Xbox Surface" already in the works, sources claim.
Details of the device - which was first mooted in June when speculation pointed towards an E3 games show reveal - indicate the use of custom ARM chippery and high-bandwidth memory geared specifically …
