Microsoft's Secret Surface Prototypes [Photos]

Panos Panay, General Manager of the Surface team, shares some prototypes of project 'Georgetown' the codename for Surface RT with The Verge.

"The goal was, you gotta bring Windows 8 to life," said Panay.

The original concept for the tablet was that people should be able to do more with it than with competitor tablets. "We're Microsoft, let's be proud of that, let's be proud that we help people get stuff done.", explains Panay. The primary goal of the team was get the product thin and light enough to be used as a tablet. They used 3D printed prototypes to help form the idea of tablet. Some early designs had rounded backs and edges but eventually a flat back with angled edges was settled on to prevent users from feeling like they might drop the tablet.


Microsoft also wanted to protect the tablet with a cover, but enable full productivity. "We stressed out about it," explains Panay, then the team paused and looked at what it had been doing with mice and keyboards for the past 30 years. The Surface team put a magnet on its concept to figure out if it was possible to make a removable keyboard cover. "What ended up happening was we kinda found this idea of everyone needs a cover, so the cover has to be super thin and they're gonna protect their glass which is an important concept and we're like, 'let's figure this out.'

Check out some photos of the early Surface prototypes below. Hit the link for even more...

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