A closer look at Microsoft's Surface tablet (pictures)

It's only been a few hours since Microsoft's official announcement of its newest piece of hardware, the Surface tablet. Though CNET was able to get hands-on time with the device, here we also present vendor shots from Microsoft's own press department.

The Surface itself weighs only 1.5 pounds and measures 9.3 millimeters thick. Its Touch Cover keyboard is only 3mm thick.

With the built-in kickstand, users can sit back and enjoy while viewing videos or Web chatting.

In addition to the Touch Cover, there's a thicker, more traditional keyboard called Type Cover. The Surface itself will also come in two versions, one running Windows RT and the other running Windows 8 Pro.

The Surface comes with rear- and front-facing camera dubbed LifeCams. Though there's no word yet on the specs of either camera, the rear-facing camera is angled at 22 degrees to offset the angle of the kickstand.

The Surface's Touch Cover keyboard comes in five colors: red, blue, black, pink, and white.