At the Future Unleashed 2015 event in Mumbai today, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced that the company’s latest Surface Pro 2 in 1 – the Surface Pro 4 will launch in India by January 2016. He said that Microsoft had a lot of demand for Surface devices from India, hence they are finally bringing it. also announced partnerships, programs and products that will help Indian organizations and Governments to explore unchartered business areas, enrich customer and citizen experience Microsoft cloud and new devices. also partnerships with three e-commerce pioneers in India – Justdial, Paytm and Snapdeal, a special cloud initiative for start-ups aligned to smart cities,
Surface Pro 4 packs a 12.3-inch (2160×1440 pixels) display with 267PPI and has new display technology that Microsoft is calling PixelGlass that has 1024 different pressure sensitivity levels, is powered by latest Intel Skylake processors, runs the latest Windows 10 and is also thinner at 8.4mm compared to the 9.1mm Surface Pro 3. It has an 8-megapixel camera at the back and a 5-megapixel camera at the front. It supports upto 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage.
It supports Windows Hello face authentication using the camera as well as a fingerprint sensor for authentication on the new Type Cover for the Surface Pro 4, which is also lighter and thinner but features a larger trackpad and more space between keys, thus making it easier to type.
Even though the CEO did not mention about the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL smartphones, these new smartphones are also expected to launch in India in the next two months.
Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft Corporation, said, “At Microsoft, we strive to empower every Indian citizen and every business and government organization to achieve more. With the newly launched Microsoft Cloud and with Surface Pro 4, our customers here in India have the digital technology they need to seize incredible new growth and opportunity on a global scale.”
Bhaskar Pramanik, Chairman, Microsoft India, said, “Cloud and mobile technologies are already galvanizing Indian industry. At Future Unleashed, we will share these stories through our customers, solution partners and ISVs. We will demonstrate that technology in the hands of brilliant people can create magic. That innovation is as much what you do with technology as the invention of the technology itself.”
E-commerce companies innovate with the cloud
To drive innovation in the fast-evolving e-commerce industry, Microsoft has entered into broad-ranging agreements with JustDial, PayTm and Snapdeal. Microsoft will partner these e-commerce leaders in creating new marketplaces, new services and new experiences for their customers. Justdial, Paytm and Snapdeal will use a range of cloud and mobile technologies from Microsoft including advanced cloud services such as machine learning, Bing, Skype and Microsoft’s digital assistant, Cortana, to drive business innovation and customer delight.
Justdial and Microsoft will explore the use of Bing and cloud-based analytics to provide and enhance customer experience.
Paytm and Microsoft are working on three core areas of partnership. The companies will integrate the Paytm app and Paytm Wallet into Cortana to enable consumers to pay for their utility bills and carry out mobile transactions easily. Paytm will use Office 365 for their merchants’ inventory and account management. Lastly, Paytm will facilitate and support Microsoft service sales via their merchant network.
Snapdeal will work with Microsoft cloud platforms to create a digital automotive dealership that is expected to change the way customers make automotive buying decisions. Snapdeal and Microsoft will use Skype, Bing and Cortana to provide new engagement platforms for Snapdeal customers.
Surface Pro 4 to be reportedly available for Rs. 67,999 in India, coming next month
128GB / Intel Core m3 – 4GB RAM – Rs. 67,999
128GB / Intel Core i5 – 4GB RAM – Rs. 74,999
256GB / Intel Core i5 – 8GB RAM – Rs. 95,999
256GB / Intel Core i7 – 8GB RAM – Rs. 1,18,499
256GB / Intel Core i7 – 16GB RAM – Rs. 1,32,99