In a recent media event in New York, Microsoft had once again rocked the stage with its latest innovation of an all-in-one PC. The new desktop is called Surface Studio, and it is indeed stunningly thin compared to all other AiOs available in the competition.
The exterior appearance of the Surface Studio is obviously pleasing. However, its most promising feature is the entire flat screen. It is due to its unique capability of tilting down to be almost parallel to the table. It doesn’t come down totally flat though but just enough to make it convenient for drawing or drafting and other art projects. It could almost function as a big tablet.
Unfortunately, this customizable desktop PC does not come cheap. It starts conveniently priced at a dollar less than three thousand for a standard configuration. Then, you can customize it according to your preferred specifications so that it reaches up to a huge amount of more than four thousand dollars. The hardware is now available as a build-to-order and shall be shipped only in limited volumes over the holidays as Microsoft announced.
What’s in the box for Surface Studio? One notable component is the Surface Dial. It’s supposed to be an add–on to the hardware which would have cost an additional $99 to the price of the hardware, but Microsoft includes it in the box as part of an introductory deal.
The Surface Dial is a polished little disk that can sit on top of your desk beside the PC. Its function replaces the mouse of the traditional desktop computer. The good thing about this gadget is that it connects wirelessly. You wouldn’t need to worry about having to untangle wires on your computer anymore.
Additionally, you can also place the surface dial on the screen, and it will automatically pull up a context-aware menu. If you’re working on an art project with a drawing application, the surface dial will automatically give you a color picker or brush presets.
Modeled after a safe dial, the Surface Dial looks like a mechanical device when looking at the case design. However, it is an electronic gadget which is powered by two triple-A batteries. It uses the energy-efficient, power-saving Bluetooth technology to communicate with the PC so that it allows the batteries to last for about a year.
The internal components of the entire desktop computer are conveniently packed inside that sleek box which also serves as the monitor’s base. It runs with at least a Core i5 processor and up to 32GB of RAM in combination with 2.1db surround system. You wouldn’t see annoying cables coming out of the hardware except for the power cord. The keyboard, as well as surface dial, are both wireless.
Astonishingly, the screen possesses a very high pixel density of 192ppi which makes it excellent for artists and photographers. Diagonal of this unit is incredible 28 inches, and it allows you to get a real-size view of images and documents on the screen. It will show you the actual size of a Word document. With an aspect ratio of 3:2, it will definitely give you a promising experience working on artistic projects or if you are just browsing the Internet.
Although still quite heavy, the Surface Studio is extremely thin compared to all other all-in-ones. This makes it for stacking in the home or office as it requires only a small amount of storage space. Microsoft claims that it is the thinnest LCD monitor ever made and just by looking at it, we tend to agree.
