iPad Mini steals Surface presale thunder Video

iPad Mini steals Surface presale thunder Video Transcript

Apple won't let Microsoft enjoy its surface moment. I'm Bridget Carey, and this is your CNET Update. Microsoft has finally announced the price of Surface. Its first tablet computer and the starting price is the same as the iPad at $500, but it has doubled the storage with 32 gigs and a built-in kickstand as well as Microsoft office. The Surface now can be pre-ordered. You'll be seeing commercials for this now. But that colorful snap on keyboard cover which makes this so unique, well, that will cost you $100 extra. So, really, the starting price is like $600 but it's still cheaper than buying a 32-gig iPad with all those accessories, and you should know that the touch cover keyboard doesn't have buttons. If you want something more tactile that feels like typing that will cost $130. All these goodies come out on October 26th, the same day Windows 8 is released, and one hour after the Surface prices were announced and it went on sale, Apple just steals the media thunder and sends out a notice that the iPad mini will be announced next week, on Tuesday, October 23rd. So, it's official, iPad mini is coming. 'Tis the season for tablet throw downs. Facebook has added a list of emoticons that can go way beyond the usual smiley faces. You can have a Chuck Norris head, a robot, or Nyan Cat. Yeah, these more complexed ones are only for chat or private messages but you can also use some fun ones in comments like a shark on penguin. You can find the full list on our story at CNET. If you like your phone screens big, then get excited for the Galaxy Note II. This 5.5-inch screen Android is coming to Sprint on October 25th and it will have new features for the S Pen Stylus. Be sure to take a look at the updated foursquare.com. The site is now more of a social search tool that anyone can use to find recommended places nearby. So basically, it's less about earning points and becoming mayor and more about being a useful tool like Yelp. Get ready for a whole new take on DVRs with the new Boxee TV. There's no storage in this box. It saves all your recordings in the cloud and there's no limit to how much you can record. It costs $99 but you also need to pay a $15 a month subscription for the service. If you're looking to cut the cost of cable this could be a dream come true. It has its own antenna for recording over the air TV and it can pick up some basic cable. You can record two shows at once, and shows can also be watched on the Boxee Website. This new system launches November 1st, starting with 8 markets. It will be interesting to see how well it works with a typical broadband connection. After all, that's a lot of data being transferred. That's your tech news update for today. You can find links to all of today's stories on the blog CNET.com/update. From our studios in New York, I'm Bridget Carey.