Originally Posted by Matt D:
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I'd assume the Touch Cover uses Bluetooth. It didn't appear to have any connections, and just attached magnetically like an iPad Smart Cover.”
Microsoft recently patented a new type of magnetic connector that also acts as both a power and data link. I'd put good money on that keyboard connector being that connector. Bluetooth would require the keyboard to have its own power source and that would be a poor design choice.
Having watched through the entire keynote, I have to say I am quite impressed with what seems to be a huge amount of design work in this tablet. It seems like Microsoft sat down and put 100% thought into every single, tiny aspect of this tablet. They even did work in an anechoic chamber in order to make the hinge sound produce a "premium sounding" click when opening and closing the stand. They seem to have put that much effort into every part, which is promising.
That i5 based tablet is the first thing I've seen that actually makes me think I could totally replace my laptop with a tablet. To be honest, though, I expect that won't be a real possibility until Haswell or Broadwell (the next two Intel architectures) make it to market. Then I think it will be possible to have a thin, light tablet with as much power as a laptop, that doesn't drain the battery within a few short hours.
In fact, battery life is the main point I am waiting on (along with price, obviously). I'm expecting the ARM tablet will get a 9-10 hour life, but I'm not assuming anything is definite until we see it.
The i5 is where I'm most unsure. I'm assuming its going to be a ULV model, but even then its hard to expect we'll see more than a 5 hour battery life - and that's me being overly optimistic and generous. Considering the sleekness, it'd be hard to expect more than 3 hours. That's just too short for a tablet.
However, I believe there is a market for both ARM and x86 tablets. With the two offerings, Microsoft is covering both. I think that is a smart move. They keynote really impressed me and this is the first time I am seriously considering purchasing a tablet. I won't be sold until I learn more, but I am wanting to learn more.