Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      World Bank set to back South Africa’s big energy grid roll-out

      20 June 2025

      The algorithm will sing now: why musicians should be worried about AI

      20 June 2025

      Sita hits back at critics, promises faster, automated procurement

      20 June 2025

      The transatlantic race to create the first television

      20 June 2025

      Listed: All the MVNOs in South Africa – 2025 edition

      19 June 2025
    • World

      Watch | Starship rocket explodes in setback to Musk’s Mars mission

      19 June 2025

      Trump Mobile dials into politics, profit and patriarchy

      17 June 2025

      Samsung plots health data hub to link users and doctors in real time

      17 June 2025

      Beijing’s chip champions blacklisted by Taiwan

      16 June 2025

      China is behind in AI chips – but for how much longer?

      13 June 2025
    • In-depth

      Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

      17 June 2025

      MultiChoice may unbundle SuperSport from DStv

      12 June 2025

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025

      Digital fortress: We go inside JB5, Teraco’s giant new AI-ready data centre

      30 May 2025

      Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s big bet to out-Apple Apple

      22 May 2025
    • TCS

      TCS+ | AfriGIS’s Helen Hulett on how tech can help resolve South Africa’s water crisis

      18 June 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E2: South Africa’s digital battlefield

      16 June 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E1: Starlink, BEE and a new leader at Vodacom

      8 June 2025

      TCS+ | The future of mobile money, with MTN’s Kagiso Mothibi

      6 June 2025

      TCS+ | AI is more than hype: Workday execs unpack real human impact

      4 June 2025
    • Opinion

      South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

      17 June 2025

      AI and the future of ICT distribution

      16 June 2025

      Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

      13 June 2025

      Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

      2 June 2025

      South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

      2 June 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » News » Microsoft gets into the laptop business

    Microsoft gets into the laptop business

    By Duncan McLeod6 October 2015
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp

    Microsoft on Tuesday surprised industry watchers by revealing it’s getting into the laptop computer business, taking the wraps off a powerful, 13,5-inch notebook PC, the Surface Book, that doubles as a tablet.

    The machine, which starts at US$1 499 (about R20 500 before VAT at current exchange rates) and goes all the way to $2 699 (about R37 000 excluding VAT), is the first laptop the company has built.

    Billed by Microsoft Surface vice-president Panos Panay as the “most powerful laptop on the planet” with the most pixels per inch in its class, the 13,5-inch screen serves up 6m pixels for a pixel density of 267ppi. The screen can be snapped out of the keyboard and the machine used as a large tablet, too.

    Panay, unveiling the machine at a launch event in New York, said the Surface Book is twice as powerful as an  Apple MacBook Air.

    The device offers a laptop-class typing experience — unlike when using the keyboard-based covers that ship with Microsoft’s Surface tablets. The keyboard is backlit and there’s also a five-point-touch glass trackpad.

    The machine ships with the latest generation Intel Core processors and they ship with an Nvidia GeForce graphics processing unit with high-speed GDDR5 memory. It has a microSD card slot and two USB 3.0 ports.

    microsoft-surface-book-640

    The machine ships with either 8GB or 16GB of RAM and solid-state drive options are 128GB, 256GB, 512GB and 1TB. It has an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and 5-megapixel front-facing unit.

    “It is modelled and metaphored after an A4 piece of paper,” said Panay.

    Microsoft claims the Surface Book will last for up to 12 hours on a single charge.

    The machines go on sale on 26 October, with preorders starting on 7 October. There’s no word yet about whether they’ll be coming to South Africa. Given that Microsoft’s line of Surface tablets is not yet available here, we wouldn’t get our hopes up.

    Meanwhile, Microsoft used the same stage in New York to debut two new high-end smartphones, the Lumia 950 and 950XL, along with an updated Microsoft Band fitness band and a new tablet, the Surface Pro 4.  — (c) 2015 NewsCentral Media



    Microsoft Microsoft Surface Book Panos Panay Surface Book SurfaceBook
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleR192bn pours into SA’s renewables sector
    Next Article Dimension Data snaps up Britehouse

    Related Posts

    Major rift opens between Microsoft and OpenAI

    17 June 2025

    The future of database management is hybrid. Are you ready?

    6 June 2025

    How AI is rewriting the rules of software development

    4 June 2025
    Company News

    Making IT happen: how Trade Link gears up to enable SA retail strategies

    20 June 2025

    Why parents choose CambriLearn for online education

    19 June 2025

    Disrupt first, ask questions later – the uncomfortable truth about incident response

    18 June 2025
    Opinion

    South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

    17 June 2025

    AI and the future of ICT distribution

    16 June 2025

    Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

    13 June 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.