Microsoft launches "Surface" Tablets

 LOS ANGELES, June 18 (Xinhua) -- Microsoft Corp. unveiled Monday a family of tablets dubbed¹ Surface, built on Windows 8, at an event in Los Angeles.

Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer introduced the company's Surface family of tablets. The devices, which feature a magnetically attachable cover and a built-in stands, run the upcoming version of its Windows operating system. The Surface's stand, called the Kickstand, snaps into place with an audible click.

"With Windows 8, we didn't want to leave any seam uncovered ... We wanted to give Windows 8 its own hardware companion," Ballmer said.

The Surface tablets come in two versions, both of which have 10.6-inch displays. The Surface RT, which measures 9.3 mm thick, weighs 676 g, has microSD and USB 2.0 ports stuck on its side and comes in 32GB or 64GB flavors. Running Windows RT, the Surface RT offers Microsoft Office.

The Surface Pro², which runs Windows 8 Pro operating system and measures with 13.5mm, is more like a touchscreen ultrabook and comes in 64GB or 128GB of storage.

The new tablets come as the software company races to catch up with Apple Inc. and Google Inc. in mobile computing³, local media reported.

1 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

3 computing   

n.计算

参考例句：

• to work in computing 从事信息处理
• Back in the dark ages of computing, in about 1980, they started a software company. 早在计算机尚未普及的时代（约1980年），他们就创办了软件公司。