It has been quite a long time since we first heard rumors about the Surface Mini. It was reported in 2013, and looked set to compete against the popular iPad mini, Kindle, and other smaller devices that were dominating the market at the time. Now, years after being canceled, the Surface Mini has now arrived - albeit just in a set of images.
The folks over at Windows Central have got their hands on the mysterious tablet, offering up a small set of images and some first impressions. It is noted that the Surface Mini is very similar to the Surface Pro 3, just smaller, and while the outer portion looks to be wrapped in a case featuring a built-in kickstand, this is actually part of the tablet"s design.
As you can see from the pictures, the screen isn"t as wide as the Surface Pro 3"s, instead, opting for a resolution of 1440 x 1080. The aforementioned kickstand is similar to that on the Surface 3, with three distinct positions.
The Mini is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor with 1GB RAM and Adreno 330 graphics, running Windows RT. It has 32GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot for expansion, a headphone jack, and a microUSB port for charging that supports USB On-The-Go. Like other Surface devices, the Mini also has support for a Surface Pen, with the product even graciously offering a proper place to store it unlike other devices in the range, like the new Surface Pro.
While it was supposed to make its debut on May 20, 2014, it was reportedly pulled from the event at the very last minute because "it wouldn"t be a hit". Although it is a shame that this device never made it to retail, it is interesting to finally get to see it in its physical form.
Source: Windows Central