We know Microsoft can make software (sometimes) but how are they going to do on their very first commercial PC that they’ve ever directly designed and sold.

Time will tell as the Microsoft Surface comes to consumers very soon.

The Microsoft Surface has been designed to take on, and maybe even take out, the all-powerful Apple iPad, and when you take a look at the design and features, the Microsoft designers must be bloated with hope.

The tried and tested tablet specs that you’d expect to find are there: a 10.6 inch high-definition touchscreen, front and rear facing cameras and a thickness just shy of the iPad.

The party-piece of the Microsoft Surface however is definitely going to be its incredibly thin plastic cover. What may seem like a gimmick and a complete rip-off of the now very popular iPad covers is actually a keyboard and touchpad when folded around to the front. Couple that with the 22-degree kickstand on the back, and you are now looking at the world’s thinnest laptop. The video is a must watch.

The keys on the keyboard are slightly raised and some awfully clever technology allows the keys to know the difference between a keystroke and a resting finger.

Microsoft say that they’ll be bringing two devices to market: a cheaper ARM chip driven device as well as a more expensive Intel chip driven device. All options will run the new Windows 8 OS in some form or another.

With a lot of ground to catch up in the marketplace and an app store that is found seriously lacking, how do you think the Windows Surface will fair in the market? Comments!