Microsoft Releases Fresh Mobile Hardware In Advance Of Surface
John Neumann for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
Microsoft needs Windows 8 operating system to work and work well with mobile devices becoming the norm and not the exception. A large part of that strategy is updating its hands-on hardware to complement its buzz-worthy mobile OS. With that, Microsoft has rolled out a lineup of keyboards and mice today that should give users some interesting options, writes Devindra Hardawar for VentureBeat.
The four input devices, aimed squarely at mobile Windows 8 tablets and laptops are designed to work, not only with Microsoft’s upcoming Surface and hybrid laptops, but with Apple’s iOS and Android based tablets, explaining the early release well before Windows 8’s October debut.
A brief hands-on with the Mobile Wedge keyboard finds a sturdy rubber sleeve that will support your tablet. The keyboard itself also has a stable feel to it, thanks to a rubber-coated wedge on the bottom of the device that hold the keyboard in place while you type on it. Key response was very positive with a light touch giving a satisfying response.
The keyboard includes four specialized hot keys and a “Windows” key featuring the new Windows logo. The only complaint you might have with the Wedge Mobile Keyboard is its $79.95 price tag, although that’s less than a keyboard/iPad dock combo for the iPad, which will run you almost $100. Being just a rubber sleeve however, the Wedge fails to offer the same connectivity and charging capabilities as Apple’s iPad Dock.
The Wedge Touch Mouse is also eye-catching and is designed to work in tandem with the keyboard. An angular design and shallow depth will not make it your favorite mouse but it’s not without a few welcome features, reports Rich Brown for CNET.
A BlueTrack on the new mouse has sensors allowing any surface to be your mouse pad, useful for when workspace is limited and you need to mouse on a pants leg. Instead of a scroll wheel, the Wedge Touch Mouse allows four-way touch-based scrolling that works at any point across the surface of the mouse.
For those who wish for a larger, but updated keyboard, consider the Sculpt Touch Keyboard. Weighing just a bit more than pound and lightning the wallet by only $50, it has a “comfort curve” design so your hands will land in a more natural position. The keyboard also will turn itself off after a period of inactivity, saving power.
The Sculpt Touch Mouse is a cheaper option, also at $50, than the $70 Wedge Touch Mouse utilizing Bluetooth for connecting and features a four-way touch scroll strip for navigating the Windows 8 Start screen.
So it appears perhaps that Microsoft is not stuck in the past or merely playing catch-up as many pundits claim. Fresh hardware on several fronts along with anticipated software should make Microsoft a player for some time to come yet.
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2012-07-30 23:45:14
Source: http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112666017/microsoft-wedge-touch-mouse/
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