Microsoft Surface 2014 Event: Live Blog

12:05PM EDT - and we're done, thanks for reading!

12:05PM EDT - Good thing I brought my spectrophotometer and test suite with me :)

12:05PM EDT - Review samples here on our way out

12:04PM EDT - 3 configs: Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7

12:04PM EDT - Pre-order starting at $799

12:04PM EDT - Goes on sale tomorrow

12:04PM EDT - "I am sure that this is the tablet that can replace the laptop"

12:04PM EDT - "We are super super proud of Surface Pro 3"

12:03PM EDT - Double clicking pen while viewing a web page lets you clip text directly into One Note

12:00PM EDT - Demonstrating One Note integration with the pen and rear facing camera

11:58AM EDT - 256 points of pressure, write your notes, click your pen and the notes immediately go to the cloud and sync to all devices

11:58AM EDT - "Lowest latency in the industry"

11:58AM EDT - Device turns on automatically

11:57AM EDT - Pick up the device, click the pen

11:57AM EDT - Now back to Surface Pro 3, about to see a pen demo

11:57AM EDT - Talking about journaling on a piece of paper

11:55AM EDT - "A piece of paper and a pen is as natural as it gets"

11:55AM EDT - "Power of Microsoft coming together as one Microsoft"

11:55AM EDT - Switching gears - back to pen/paper analogy

11:53AM EDT - "Best in class in the industry"

11:53AM EDT - 40% more powerful front facing speakers

11:51AM EDT - Thinnest optical stack helps remove parallax from the product, pen tip is right where the "ink" is

11:51AM EDT - Annotating a movie script on Surface Pro 3

11:49AM EDT - Now onto another app: Final Draft

11:49AM EDT - Showing handwriting recognition in the NYT crossword app

11:48AM EDT - Showing the NYT Crossword app on Surface Pro 3

11:47AM EDT - "writing on a PC is clunky"

11:47AM EDT - Piece of paper + pen is a familiar posture, Surface Pro 3 aims to reproduce that posture

11:46AM EDT - "The chemistry between the size of a piece of paper and this device isn't an accident"

11:46AM EDT - Talking about a piece of paper as the inspiration for Surface Pro 3, and the 3:2 aspect ratio

11:44AM EDT - Looks far more flexible than the previous two generations of Type Covers/hinges

11:44AM EDT - Type Cover attaches to the screen at a second point, creating a more stable base

11:43AM EDT - About to demonstrate how Surface Pro 3 is more lap friendly

11:42AM EDT - The typing experience: lowered user fatigue

11:42AM EDT - The trackpad on the previous type covers was pretty bad, this one still looks a little small

11:41AM EDT - 68% larger trackpad, reduced friction by 78%

11:41AM EDT - Improved the trackpad considerably

11:41AM EDT - To really get productivity right, you cannot compromise on the mouse or the typing experience

11:41AM EDT - It is by far, even with the cover on, the thinnest Core product ever created

11:40AM EDT - Made the Type Cover even thinner

11:40AM EDT - "To really build a tablet that can replace the tablet, this is critical, it has to work in your lap"

11:40AM EDT - "lapability"

11:39AM EDT - 150 degrees is the max angle it looks like

11:39AM EDT - You can set the kickstand at any angle

11:39AM EDT - Canvas mode, a new mode for the kickstand

11:38AM EDT - Original Surface angle

11:38AM EDT - 22-degree angle in its first stop

11:38AM EDT - The kickstand does a lot for a tablet

11:37AM EDT - Now on to the kickstand

11:36AM EDT - "A lot more you can expect from our partnership in the not too distant future"

11:36AM EDT - "A lot more in this upcoming version of Photoshop"

11:36AM EDT - Demonstrating pinch, zoom, panning and double tap in Photoshop CC on SP3

11:35AM EDT - Pen input support

11:35AM EDT - New interface, all the icons are 200% larger

11:35AM EDT - Sneak peak of Photoshop CC optimized for touch on Surface Pro 3

11:34AM EDT - "If you take the power of Photoshop and put it on a device like this, it's a creative's dream come true"

11:34AM EDT - VP of Experience Design for Adobe takes the stage to show off Photoshop on Surface Pro 3

11:32AM EDT - Now running a demo on Surface Pro 3

11:31AM EDT - Docking station lets you drive a 4K display

11:31AM EDT - Surface Pro 3 docking station

11:30AM EDT - Panos just gave his demo to Joanna Stern

11:30AM EDT - Panos just dropped the Surface to demonstrate build quality

11:29AM EDT - Over ~20% more battery life than any product Surface has shipped before

11:29AM EDT - Taken away nothing to do all that

11:29AM EDT - Thinnest optical stack at 0.75mm on any device this size

11:29AM EDT - optically measure almost every part, machine down the magnesium, put it together so all air is squeezed out

11:28AM EDT - Every single unit that comes off the line, every single SP3, is custom machined

11:28AM EDT - Radially emit air throughout the entire product so you never hear it, feel it or see it

11:28AM EDT - 30% more efficient fan than any fan in any product today

11:27AM EDT - Talking about the fan

11:27AM EDT - "100 custom parts to do this"

11:27AM EDT - 10% more perf than Surface Pro 2

11:26AM EDT - Core i7

11:26AM EDT - "closest thing to a technical love affair that I could possibly think of"

11:26AM EDT - "partnered super close with Intel"

11:26AM EDT - "Why hasn't this been done before?"

11:25AM EDT - 6% more content than on the 13-inch MBA's screen

11:25AM EDT - "We have optimized the scaling of windows perfectly"

11:25AM EDT - Lighter than a 13-inch MBA

11:24AM EDT - "Perfectly equal distribution of weight through the product"

11:24AM EDT - "It feels beautiful"

11:23AM EDT - Same clear type tech in Surface Pro 2, optically bonded, highest contrast ratios in the industry

11:23AM EDT - Pushing the screen to 12" was critical to make it a laptop replacement, 3:2 aspect ratio

11:22AM EDT - Faster than Surface Pro 2

11:21AM EDT - Thinnest intel core product ever made

11:21AM EDT - I'm very interested in this full friction multi-position kickstand

11:20AM EDT - USB 3

11:20AM EDT - 9.1mm thin 800g

11:20AM EDT - full friction multi position kickstand

11:19AM EDT - 2160 x 1440

11:19AM EDT - 12" screen

11:19AM EDT - Surface Pro 3

11:19AM EDT - "Today we take the conflict away, and I'm absolutely sure of that"

11:19AM EDT - "It had to be bigger"

11:19AM EDT - No compromise on performance, has to be thin and light

11:18AM EDT - "To do it you'd have to have everything in one package"

11:18AM EDT - "We have to remove it, people need that, but to do it it's not that simple"

11:18AM EDT - "Today we're going to focus on that and only that, taking that conflict away"

11:18AM EDT - "96% of the time you buy two things"

11:18AM EDT - "You walk into the store, that conflict is in front of you"

11:18AM EDT - "you've been told to buy a tablet but you know you need a laptop"

11:17AM EDT - "What does the sales rep say, almost every time, the response is so common it's uncanny, it's so simple yet so complex, the response is this: what is it that you want to do?"

11:17AM EDT - "You can stand between two very clear tables and ask a question: what is it I'm supposed to buy?"

11:16AM EDT - "It does not matter what store you walk into, the conflict exists"

11:16AM EDT - Panos is talking about the blurry line between tablets and notebooks

11:16AM EDT - "Sometimes they come out clunky, sometimes they come out beautiful, either way there's a design point"

11:15AM EDT - "They're designed for editing, they're designed for making"

11:15AM EDT - "Laptops aren't designed that way at all, they are designed to get stuff done"

11:15AM EDT - "From a product making standpoint, tablets are designed for you to sit back and watch movies, read books, made for browsing the web, snacking on apps..."

11:15AM EDT - "I see lots of MacBooks, and for good reason"

11:14AM EDT - "96% of people who own an iPad also own a laptop"

11:14AM EDT - "That was supposed to happen"

11:14AM EDT - Now Panos is talking about tablets killing the laptop

11:13AM EDT - "Let's take a step back for just a minute and deal with some reality"

11:13AM EDT - Video done, back to Panos

11:11AM EDT - Likely addressing some of the initial "this isn't an iPad" criticism of the first Surfaces

11:11AM EDT - Panos definitely threw a jab at the press in the room: we don't build devices for people in this room

11:10AM EDT - Now playing a video showing people using Surface

11:10AM EDT - Dangerous to be too customer focused

11:10AM EDT - Very customer focused design, sounds very Dell-like

11:10AM EDT - "We design the device for people who use it every day"

11:10AM EDT - "we've learned plenty of negative and we learn and we grow and we feed and we feed..."

11:09AM EDT - "It was a good start"

11:09AM EDT - Panos is talking about the initial Surface vision

11:09AM EDT - OneDrive, even MS studios all working together on this product

11:08AM EDT - Working on this device for the past 1.5 years

11:07AM EDT - Panos Panay is about to take the stage

11:07AM EDT - "Today we have a major step forward on that dream and that mission"

11:07AM EDT - "enjoy art and create art, that's the device we want to create"

11:07AM EDT - Talking about building a device that takes the best of tablets and laptops

11:06AM EDT - "Today is a major milestone on that journey"

11:06AM EDT - "Our goal is to create new categories and spark new demand for our entire ecosystem"

11:06AM EDT - "Not interested in competing with our OEMs when it comes to hardware"

11:06AM EDT - "We want to build experiences that bring together all of the capabilities of our company"

11:05AM EDT - "We're clearly not interested in building refrigerators or toasters"

11:05AM EDT - Today's Discussion: Why hardware?

11:05AM EDT - Software partners that is

11:05AM EDT - Now talking about MS' partners

11:05AM EDT - Now talking about Office 365, Skype on mobile to improve productivity

11:04AM EDT - There's a big productivity slant to Nadella's speech thus far

11:03AM EDT - "Do more, be more - unifying theme across the company"

11:03AM EDT - Recapping previous events now, too early for meaty info - "we want to talk about devices and hardware"

11:02AM EDT - Satya Nadella, the new MS CEO, is talking about Microsoft's mobile/cloud first strategy

11:01AM EDT - Lights going down, we're starting!

10:59AM EDT - 2 minutes now

10:55AM EDT - 6 minutes until start

10:48AM EDT - The same goes for Windows Server

10:48AM EDT - I feel like what MS wants to do with Windows RT is what it should've done in the early days, which is make it an extension of Windows Phone. But now with the near term arrival of high performance ARM silicon, what we need from Windows RT is a full fledged ARMv8 version of Windows, with full developer access to the desktop and Windows APIs

10:47AM EDT - What we really need from Microsoft is an ARM version of Windows and Windows server that are true counterparts to the x86 versions, rather than the limited platform we have today with Windows RT

10:47AM EDT - So let's talk about Windows RT a bit. AMD just announced their K12 project, a high performance 64-bit custom ARM core, it seems that within the next 2 - 3 years we'll get a lot of high performing ARM based SoCs (http://www.anandtech.com/show/7990/amd-announces-k12-core-custom-64bit-arm-design-in-2016)

10:46AM EDT - Although I don't think we'll get to the level of polish necessary until next year's Windows release, Microsoft is definitely getting there

10:46AM EDT - Windows 8 has come a long way since the initial Surface launch, that will surely help whatever is announced today

10:45AM EDT - 15 mins left

10:43AM EDT - The 2nd generation Surface Pro used Haswell but lacked connected standby, I'd expect whatever is announced today to address that at least

10:43AM EDT - Microsoft thus far has avoided using ultra low power Haswell Y SKUs and instead focused on Ultrabook-style ULT parts, I wonder if that will change?

10:42AM EDT - It's a bit too early for Broadwell, so anything x86 based would have to be Bay Trail or Haswell

10:42AM EDT - I'm expecting a new Surface Pro, but I'm not sure about the 12" form factor. That would definitely be interesting, I'm just not sure how it would work with the current approach to pseudo-rigid keyboard covers

10:41AM EDT - The current rumors are an 8" Qualcomm based Surface mini and a 12" Surface Pro. I don't think the Surface mini will be happening, Microsoft's Windows RT strategy is in a state of limbo right now

10:41AM EDT - Shall we talk about expectations?

10:41AM EDT - WiFi is unfortunately terrible in terms pf perf, so we're on AT&T HSPA+

10:40AM EDT - We're seated and waiting for the event to begin - we're about 20 minutes away from the start