Microsoft has announced it will enter the tablet market with Surface, a 10.6 inch touchscreen computer that will run on their upcoming operating system Windows 8.

The announcement, made at an event in Los Angeles, can be seen as an attempt by the company to rival Apple, who currently lead the field with the iPad.

The tablet comes with a revolutionary 3mm thin magnetic cover that doubles as a keyboard. The unique pressure-sensitive technology will allow typing twice as fast as that with an on-screen keyboard, according to President of the Microsoft Windows division, Steven Sinofsky.

There will be two versions available, one running Windows 8 RT, which is a tablet version of the new operating software, and one for Windows 8 Pro, which will give users the full desktop experience on the mobile device. Microsoft also stated that the built-in Wi-Fi was better than any other tablet

If you're curious to know how much this is all going to cost you, then unfortunately you'll have to wait. Microsoft remained elusive on price and availability, but Sinofsky maintained the pricing of Surface would remain competitive with other ARM tablets and Intel powered ultrabooks.

Written and Narrated by Alfred Joyner