Microsoft Surface 2 begin deliveries: Samsung SUR40 unboxing and first boot

Two months after Microsoft started accepting pre-orders for the 2nd-generation Microsoft Surface Samsung SUR40, it has begun making its way into the open arms of developers like the one above for The Robert Gordon University in Scotland.

With the device costing around $9000, those of us who don’t have that kind of money to spare for a 40-inch iPad will just have to experience the thrills through their unboxing video. Although for the most part it doesn’t actually look too different to a TV unboxing, the second half of the video does goes through the initial set up and demo apps.

13 insightful thoughts

  1. Sweet! I want to sit on one side of it with a stick on joystick, boot up a MAME window and have some emulator FUN! 😀

  2. First off this is not just a big I-Pad. This device is a full functioning computer that actually has business functions. Surface is multi/multi touch, it is a true development platform not just a paper toss development platform. when you look at things like second light and other research solutions around this technology you soon see what I have said for years IPad/Iphone are Play-ductivty and the surface and other Microsoft embeded devices are Pro-ductivity.

    As so slow, this is all about advancment and evolution. this is just version 2 can people remember version 2 of Windows, version 2 of DOS, or Version 2 of any other OS. The fact is Microsoft has never had a hold on the hardware. Samsung makes the hardware Microsoft just makes the OS and programming bits to get you started. Many people loose sight of this fact. Apple, Sun, etc… all make the OS and the hardware so they have control over the speeds and feeds.

    Slow is a Blackberry boot, slow is a Windows phone 6.5 Boot……

    I personally think this is a great piece of equipment that stands on its own as a truely great productivity device. By the way this was all done years ago with the exception of Multi Touch By Xerox Parc in a device called “Liveboard”, Once again the ball was dropped by Managment. I truly hope Microsoft and Samsung can really premote this product the way it should be abd deserves and position it not as an I-pad but as a true real world productivity device not a toy.

    Once again we have a great product here that is looking for solutions to help it live.

  3. adding to Jay’s response – another reason this isn’t an 40″ iPad is the display technology is VERY different. That’s not a slight against the iPad – Surface 2.0 uses sensor in pixel technology (aka PixelSense) to deliver a screen that can see, not simply respond to touch. That capability is dramatically different and enables new ideas as the surface is able to recognize and interact with objects.

    The regular comparisons I see between Surface 2.0 and iPad do neither device justice. They’re really quite different things.

    1. yes, and example to that big difference between the Surface and other touch screens is something I did in the Bachelor Project that I implemented on the first generation Microsoft Surface.
      I was able to simulate physical collisions between virtual objects displayed on the screen and real objects placed on the surafce, because the Microsoft Surface can “see”, I was able to capture the shape of the objects placed on it and add it to a physics engine along with all the other virtual objects 🙂
      Such a thing can’t be made on regular capacitive touch screens as they just sense the position of your finger and not it’s actual shape.

  4. Have one of these in my office, so useless, impractical and nonuser friendly- colleges and i have been playing around with it days and trying to come up with uses for it. unless your and absolute total IT guru this item is useless.

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