Microsoft's new tablets may be getting simplified names if the Surface website is any indication.
Microsoft may have chosen to streamline the names of its new Surface tablets if the nomenclature used on the company's official website for the devices is any indication.
When Microsoft's ARM-based Surface tablet running Windows RT was launched on Oct. 26, it was officially known as "Surface with Windows RT." Now, however, the official Surface website is referring to the tablet as simply "Surface RT." Similarly, while the Surface tablet running Windows 8 was previously known as "Surface with Windows 8 Pro," it's now referred to as "Surface Pro" on the Microsoft website.
Earlier this month, the tablets were still referred to as Surface with Windows RT and Surface with Windows 8 Pro on the official Surface website. An archived version of the site from Feb. 8 displaying the previous names can be seen here.
Despite the change on the official Surface website, the Windows 8 version of the tablet is still referred to as Surface with Windows 8 Pro on a page of the official Windows website.
Microsoft hasn't released any announcements confirming the name changes, although the move may have been made as a result of media references to the devices. Many media outlets already referred to the tablets as Surface RT and Surface Pro. The change may also have been made for the sake of simplicity, however, as the company's own personnel have referred to the tablets by their shorter names even before they were released.
Panos Panay, a Microsoft general manager and the creator of the Surface line, referred to the tablets using the simpler names in two separate Reddit AMA sessions – one before the launch of the Windows RT version of the tablet and a second shortly before the launch of the Windows 8 variant.
When reached for comment, a Microsoft representative said the company has "nothing further to share at this time" regarding the tablets' names.
This isn't the first time Microsoft has simplified a product's name following media complaints about verbosity. In April 2010, Microsoft renamed its then-upcoming smartphone operating system "Windows Phone 7" from the longer "Windows Phone 7 Series." The change came just two months after the platform was announced.
Source: Microsoft | Image via Microsoft
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