Yes, Microsoft unveiled the hyper-rumored tablet during its Monday announcement. But the surprises came when the company continued to showcase new hardware in the form of two accompanying tablet covers: the Type and the Touch.
Microsoft's Touch Cover for the Surface tablets is 3mm thick and comes in four available colors: cyan, orange, magenta, and gray. The real trick is that it doubles as a keyboard and trackpad, both on the inside of the cover. The Surface tablet can recognize when the cover is attached, and users can't miss when trying to connect through its use of magnets.
The cover comes with an accelerometer, so it can measure the force of each finger. This allows users to both rest hands on the computer and type, with the hardware distinguishing between the actions. Microsoft claimed typing is twice as efficient here as opposed to glass, and that the keyboard samples 10x faster than any actual keyboard. The Surface OS can also recognize when it's folded behind the back of the tablet (indicating the keyboard should be switched off). Microsoft touted 30 years of mouse technology and 15 years of keyboards went into this design.
from Ars Technica http://arstechnica.com
