NEW YORK — Microsoft will be releasing its own tablet computer for the first time when the new version of Windows comes out today, as the software company tries to challenge Apple Inc. and its dominant iPad.
Because the initial version of Surface will run Windows RT, a modified version of Windows 8, which was unveiled Thursday, Surface won't run standard Windows programs; it will run only apps designed for it and obtained through Microsoft's new online store.
The device will start at $499, the same as the most recent, full-size iPads. The display is 10.6 inches diagonally, slightly larger than the iPad's.
The Surface goes on sale today, though Microsoft was set to sell it at its store in New York's Times Square late Thursday.
In San Antonio, consumers can go to the pop-up Microsoft kiosk at North Star Mall. The earliest shipment for new online orders is now one to two weeks away.
A Surface with Windows 8 Pro and the ability to run regular Windows programs will come a few months later. Microsoft hasn't disclosed the price.
Panos Panay, general manager of the Surface team, demonstrated watching movies and listening to music on the Surface itself, as well as streamed to a nearby Xbox.
The Surface has a kickstand, and its back camera is angled so it shoots straight out, not toward the table, allowing users to take notes and record video at the same time.
Thursday's launch event also marked the debut of Windows 8, a radical redesign that introduces a touch-enabled interface that attempts to bridge the gap between personal computers and mobile devices.
“What you have seen and heard should leave no doubt that Windows 8 will shatter the perceptions about what a PC really is,” Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer crowed at a New York launching event.
Another version of Windows 8 will be released next week for smartphones, which overwhelmingly are dominated by Apple Inc. and Google Inc.'s Android software.
“This is the biggest gamble they've ever made,” said analyst Richard Doherty of the Envisioneering Group. “Does (Windows 8) do more things? Yes ... but it's not that easy to use.”
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