<div><strong>Simar Singh</strong><br><br>The tech world was caught off guard when Microsoft announced its first-ever entrant into the laptop race a few weeks back. The eagerly anticipated pricing details of this surprise entrant finally emerged on Monday (19 October).</div><div> </div><div>Currently only available for pre-order in the United States, the notebook which has been christened ‘The Surface Book’ starts at $1,499 (Rs 97,000 approx.) for its 128GB model with an Intel i5 processor and goes up to a jaw-dropping $3,199 (Rs 2,07,500 approx.) for its 1TB model which houses an Intel i7 core processor.</div><div> </div><div>All six variants of this laptop have a 13.5-inch touchscreen display packed with an impressive 3000 x 2000 resolution and run on a Windows 10 Pro operating system. The price point is inclusive of Microsoft’s ‘surface pen’ stylus which comes with each purchase.</div><div> </div><div>Presumably people will be ready to clear their banks as The Surface Book’s surprise factor extends its design which doesn’t look like anything that is currently available on the market.</div><div> </div><div>The most distinct feature of The Surface Book is its hinge which looks like something right out of a sci-fi movie. With a thick ribbed curvature, this hinge has been built to hold the two components of the two-in-one laptop which allows one to detach the screen and use it as a tablet. It houses a high-tech “muscle wire” which mechanically and electrically holds the pair of components together.</div><div> </div><div>The company which has been struggling to reinvent itself and revitalise its fortunes for the past few years has seemingly taken rival Apple’s MacBook Pro heads on with this product which is somewhat a mesh between the MacBook Pro and the iPad Pro.</div><div> </div><div>In terms of pricing it has even outdone Apple as the base model of The Surface Book is priced $200 higher than the “pricey” MacBook Pro.</div><div> </div><div>Critical reception to The Surface Book has generally been very positive with experts complementing its sleek design, power packed specs and innovative nature. But as we all know, sales figures are king and we’ll soon know how successful Microsoft’s move will be.</div><div> </div>
