No sooner did Microsoft unveil the Surface RT tablet that the tech world got abuzz with rumors about a gaming tablet from the Microsoft stable. The company is apparently designing a 7-inch tablet specifically for gaming, bringing together its gaming console with the new range of tablet PCs. This device could be called the Xbox Surface and unnamed sources at Microsoft have stated that it is right now in the initial hardware planning stage.
This isn’t the first time rumors about Microsoft’s gaming tablet have come out. It started back in June, but Microsoft has offered no comments yet. The tablet could run on a stripped-down version of Windows and could be powered by a custom ARM processor and high-bandwidth RAM. The tablet could also perform typical tablet operations like messaging and browsing, but the focus would be purely on gaming.
There are also rumors about the gaming tablet could be built in a factory that manufactures other Surface devices, unlike the next-gen Xbox consoles that would be produced by current Xbox partners, Pegatron and Foxconn. Some of its components could be developed in Microsoft’s Silicon Valley offices, as there are reports of a security lockdown at Xbox-related buildings within the facilities. If these rumors do hold true, we can expect the Xbox Surface to come out before Microsoft unveils its next-gen Xbox console, which is due to come out during the second half of 2013.
