Microsoft's Intel x86 Windows 8 Surface Pro tablet apparently boasts only half the battery life of the less expensive Surface RT which is powered by Nvidia's power-conscience (ARM) Tegra chip.
A strong competitive market - including surging Android tablet shipments and robust demand for Apple's iPad mini - has prompted analysts at IDC to revise their 2012 projection for the worldwide tablet market.
A joint effort by Microsoft and Intel to challenge Apple's wildly popular iPad in the highly lucrative tablet market seems to have gotten off to a very slow start.
Lackluster demand may have prompted Microsoft to significantly slash orders of its Surface RT tablet, but that hasn't stopped Redmond from planning additional mobile hardware.
Nintendo may have recently rolled out its next-gen Wii U console, but it will be a year until Microsoft launches its long-awaited Xbox 720 in time for 2013 holiday season.
Microsoft has confirmed pricing for its Intel x86-powered Surface tablet: $899 for the 64GB standalone iteration and $999 for the 128GB standalone version. Both will be available in January 2013.
Analysts at DisplayMate recently published a tablet display shootout that pitted Microsoft's Surface RT against the retina-enabled Apple iPad, the iPad 2 and Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.
You don't need to be Nostradamus or a rocket scientist to predict that Halo is going to generate a huge amount of cash its first week. How much, you ask?
Steven Sinofsky, president of Microsoft's Windows division and widely tipped as a future CEO, has left the company just three weeks after the launch of his division's flagship product, Windows 8.
