Say Hello to the Surface Book, Microsoft's Answer to Apple's MacBook (VIDEO) The sleek, super-slim laptop doubles as a tablet and works with touch, a 'pen' stylus or a mouse.

By Kim Lachance Shandrow

Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.

Microsoft

Microsoft took a swipe at Apple's MacBook Pro today with the introduction of the super sleek convertible Surface Book. The ultra-thin hinged laptop doubles as a tablet, features a removable keyboard and works with a touch, a "Pen" stylus or a mouse.

With a starting price of $1,499, the lightweight, 13.5-inch device -- Microsoft's first-ever in-house laptop -- boasts a full-sized backlit keyboard, 16GB GDDR5 RAM, a 12-hour battery life and a sixth-generation Intel Core processor. The MacBook Pro, which Microsoft claims churns at half the speed of the Surface Book, starts at $1,299.

Related: Microsoft's Version of Siri Fails to Work at the Worst Possible Moment (VIDEO)

"What if you wanted a Surface -- but you wanted a laptop Surface, something with a bigger screen, something with the perfect typing experience of a laptop?" Panos Panay, Microsoft's Surface VP, asked the crowd as he revealed the MacBook challenger at a Windows 10 devices live briefing this morning.

Related: Twitter Unveils Easy-to-Use 'Moments' Feature That Curates Trending Topics

The laptop officially goes on sale on Oct. 26, although Microsoft will begin accepting orders for it tomorrow.

Also introduced at today's event were a newer, thinner Surface Pro 4 tablet, an arched-screen iteration of the Band fitness tracker and new Lumia smartphones. Microsoft also announced that it will upgrade all of its Xbox One systems to Windows 10, enabling Xbox 360 games to be played on the Xbox One.

Related: How Bill Gates Became a Leadership Legend
Kim Lachance Shandrow

Former West Coast Editor

Kim Lachance Shandrow is the former West Coast editor at BIZ Experiences.com. Previously, she was a commerce columnist at Los Angeles CityBeat, a news producer at MSNBC and KNBC in Los Angeles and a frequent contributor to the Los Angeles Times. She has also written for Government Technology magazine, LA Yoga magazine, the Lowell Sun newspaper, HealthCentral.com, PsychCentral.com and the former U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. C. Everett Coop. Follow her on Twitter at @Lashandrow. You can also follow her on Facebook here. 

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