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 Pro, 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 computing, local media reported.