CES : Underneath Microsoft's new Surface

LAS VEGAS--While much of last night's CES kick-off keynote by Microsoft centered on huge Kinect sales, Windows Phone 7 features, the latest PCs, and the technical prowess of the next version of Windows, tucked into the presentation was a product that has been largely untouched since its introduction back in 2007. That would be Microsoft's Surface, a $12,500 table-top, multitouch computer, which has a new version shipping out later this year that's five grand cheaper, has 10 inches of additional screen real estate, more powerful internals, and a drastically thinner underside.

The new unit is four inches thick and made out of an LCD panel that's been optically bonded to 40 inches of Corning's Gorilla Glass. This can be placed either horizontally on stands or counter tops, or (for the first time) on vertical surfaces for use as a kiosk. In fact, if you didn't know any better, when it's on a wall, it's easily mistaken for a TV. 

"Two years ago, this was not possible from a technology standpoint," Panos Panay, general manager of Microsoft's Surface project, told CNET in an interview. "What we've done with Samsung LCD is gone right to the manufacturing line. And part of the panel is embedding these sensors right into it. So now it's basically coming right off the standard LCD line."

That move to LCD and away from projection technology with multiple cameras has resulted in the smaller size, as well as what Panay said is a much more reliable product. This last bit ends up being one of the most important aspects of the second generation hardware, since the first Surface units were prone to having their camera system jiggled out of whack, which would result in a loss of precision. 

As for the bigger size, Panay said 40 inches was not a guess or an accident. "With all our version one learning, this is almost the perfect distance for two people sit across from each other. It's the perfect width for two people to sit next to each other and interact," he said.