The much hyped Microsoft Surface tablet is set to release on October 26
alongside Windows 8. The tablet is said to be up against competition
from Acer's Iconia or HP's TouchPad. While Acer has put a
"think twice"
label on Microsoft's new venture into the tablet arena, the software
giant seems to be working on a second iteration of the Surface, reports
TechRadar.
The Microsoft Careers site has dozens of job
listings between June 18 and August 2, indicating Microsoft's hunt for
engineers and managers to build the "next generation" of Surface
devices.
Many of these mention, "The Surface Team focuses on
lighting up Microsoft experiences with touch first computing... We are
currently building the next generation and Surface needs you!" While
others state... "The Surface Team focuses on building devices that fully
express the Windows vision."
The job listings for the Surface
team are for a variety of positions ranging from mechanical engineers to
materials experts, component specialists to driver developers and audio
engineers. This means that there's a lot of scope for innovation and
improvement over the yet-to-launch Surface.
They also reveal
certain interesting clues regarding enhancements for the Touch Cover,
since one of the postings mention vacancy for a materials engineer to
work with "new materials including metals, ceramics, plastics and thin
films" as well as "finishing processes such as paint, plating and PVD".
Nothing
is official apart from the two Surface tablets that Microsoft announced
in June. But the company expects to sell a few million tablets, which
would be a good start for Microsoft, if it is planning to extend its
range of "new family of PCs".
Microsoft Surface in pictures