Xbox Surface: Microsoft 7 Inch, 720p Gaming Tablet On the Way

After 10.6-inch Surface launched paving the way for Microsoft"s entry in tablets, the software giant seems to be building a 7 inch gaming tablet dubbed as Xbox Surface.

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As per a recent The Verge report, Microsoft has confirmed that the initial hardware planning for Xbox Surface is underway and that the specs of the 7 inch gaming device that were leaked in June prior to the announcement of Surface Pro and Surface RT tablets are accurate.

The report goes on stating that the tablet might have a custom ARM processor and a high-bandwidth RAM that are designed mainly for gaming purpose. However, the Xbox Surface is allegedly being developed neutral to the hardware and it could also be powered by an Intel chip.

The tablet will not run on full Windows, instead, it will be based on a custom Windows kernel. It is not perfectly clear whether this would be a general-purpose device like the iPad mini, but it seems that while it may support messaging and other features, gaming will be its primary focus.

The Redmond based software giant has development a secretive hardware production process for the Surface tablets, which is completely separate from the partners that manufacturer Xbox consoles for the company. Also, companies including Foxconn and Pegatron will start with the mass production of Xbox 720 console.

The report also claims that Xbox Surface is being manufacturer at Microsoft's office in Silicon Valley and that the company has recently limited employee access to its Interactive Entertainment Business division and locked various Xbox related buildings in order to keep the device secretive.

More specifications...

According to earlier rumors, the Xbox Surface will have a 7 inch multi-touch display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels, Bluetooth, WiFi, and a 2.4GHz processor with AMD GPU, 1.2GB GDDR5 RAM and 250GB 10,000 rpm HDD.