Did you know that the Microsoft Surface is not a new Microsoft idea?  Back in 2007, the company already unveiled Microsoft Surface but it’s not as portable as the 2012 Microsoft Surface.  See, the 2007 Surface was as big as a coffee table but it was also a touchscreen device.  It was meant for business use such as in restaurants where people can just touch the screen to order food or drinks.

Maybe Microsoft should have have called the 2012 Surface as Microsoft Surface Personal Edition, or they should have just came up with a catchy name.  I can’t imagine people saying, “I love my Surface!”  That sounds so… conceited.

Even if the name isn’t as awesome as it should be, Microsoft fans are hoping that when it gets released, it will perform far better than the iPad.

We’ve already compared Apple’s iPad and Microsoft Surface, pitting them side-by-side to learn how the two are different or the same in certain aspects.  The design, the kickstand, the Touch/Type Cover makes it seem like the Surface has the edge over the iPad, but it seems like Microsoft failed to wow people with their interface.

“[T]he company has made a perplexing design choice by hiding crucial navigation items off the screen,” said Ryan Nakashima of the Associated Press who had the opportunity to try the device for a few minutes.  “Finding them requires swiping in from the sides. I would need a tutorial on what actions lead to what results. Let’s just say it is not readily apparent.”

More rumors surface

WiFi only
According to Bloomberg’s sources, the first release of the Surface will be WiFi only.  This may be both good and bad news.  Good, as it will keep the cost down, bad as it will inhibit you from using your Surface anywhere, leaving you bound by WiFi network availability.

The iPad is available in WiFi and WiFi+cellular versions, so consumers have the choice of just connecting over WiFi or if they’re really that mobile, they can choose WiFi+cellular so they can connect to WiFI when it’s available or via cellular networks when WiFi is nowhere to be found.

Price
A report from Digitimes stated that Microsoft will be outsourcing the Surface assembly to  Pegatron Technology, but there’s no news yet as to how great the production volume would be.  As for the price of the Surface, “the Windows 8 Pro-based Surface tablet PC with Ivy Bridge processor to be at least above US$799, while the Windows RT-based model, featuring Nvidia’s Tegra 3, will be priced above US$599.”

Battery life
Microsoft didn’t give any details as to how long the Surface would last when in use, they only gave out the battery spec which are: 31.4Wh for the Windows RT Surface and 42Wh for the Windows 8 Pro version.  According to a report from Computerworld, the the Windows RT Surface would last 25% less compared to the iPad or 7.5 hours compared to the iPad’s 10 hours of battery life.   The Windows Pro version, on the other hand, is rumored to have only six hours of battery life.  The estimated battery life of the devices came from their computation and comparison against the iPad.