Windows tablets for business: Microsoft Surface event announced, new Lenovo ThinkPad released

There’s big news on two fronts for businesses using Windows tablets, with Microsoft announcing a Surface press event as Lenovo releases a new version of its ThinkPad.

Microsoft has officially announced it is hosting a Surface launch in New York event at 8am on May 20, US Pacific Time.

The event, which will also stream live on the company’s website, is likely to feature the unveiling of the company’s Surface 3 tablets.

The event announcement comes on the same day as PC maker Lenovo unveiled a new 10-inch Windows 8.1 tablet aimed at the business market, known as the ThinkPad 10.

The ThinkPad 10 is a convertible, meaning it can be used as a tablet, laptop or desktop, comes with 4G/LTE connectivity as an option and, unlike the ThinkPad 8, does include a digitiser pen.

While Lenovo hasn’t released an Australian price for the device, it will have an asking price in the US of $US599.

Meanwhile, on a related note, cybersecurity firm Qualys has posted some new research showing the marketshare for Windows XP in the enterprise market has fallen to around 8%.

The latest figure represents a significant fall from January and February, when XP’s marketshare was around 35%, suggesting businesses are shifting away from the now obsolete operating system.

Microsoft announced the end of support for XP in April, meaning the tech giant won’t release security patches for it in the future, with businesses still using the platform advised to upgrade to a more recent version.