Microsoft pins Windows 8 hopes on Surface Steven Sinofsky, President of Microsoft's Windows Division, said that in the Surface tablet "everything Microsoft has done is coming together." Contrasting with his earlier presentation, the executive appeared relaxed and informal as he demonstrated the £399 tablet that the company hopes will be the best advert for its operating system and accompanying new interface. Later that evening Microsoft opened a Times Square, New York, store dedicated wholly to its own Surface tablet, making no mention of other manufacturers who are also making Windows 8 devices. The company also took over the bulk of the Square's advertising, with executives including Sinfosky in attendance. Rival manufacturers have already said that Surface could make them question their relationship with Microsoft, although consumers queued around several blocks to buy the device. Surface runs a version of the new Windows 8 software called RT, which can't run existing Windows programmes such as Photoshop and iTunes. It does, however, claim a 10-hour battery life and a unique Soft Cover keyboard that is just 3mm thick. Although the hardware has been almost universally praised, the software's lack of apps and occasional holes has been called "heart-breaking" by some critics. Sinofsky said it was "great to see so much passion for the potential" of Surface. Windows 8 has been subjected to a total of 1.24billion hours of testing in 190 countries, and is forecast to make up the vast bulk of the 400 million computers that will be sold in the next year. In the main presentation in New York, both Sinofsky and Chief Executive Steve Ballmer pointed to the 1,000 products that will be licenced for use with the software when it goes on sale today in more than 200 markets. Sinofsky claimed that the new devices, from a range of manufacturers, are "the best PCs ever made," but it was in the Surface launch that he and Panos Panay, Microsoft's head of Surface, revealed an enthusiasm that had previously been less conspicuous. Surface's cheaper options, with 32GB of storage, have already sold out. Ballmer claimed that "Windows 8 PCs really are the best PCs ever - they're all personal. Most importantly they bring together PC and tablet, work and play. Critics have suggested that Microsoft will struggle to convince users to adopt the new interface used by Windows 8, which uses "live tiles" on a new Start screen to give users a glimpse of what their apps are doing, displaying emails and new photographs, for instance. Microsoft has confirmed that it will continue to make hardware to showcase the new operating system, with a Surface tablet running the fill version of Windows 8 and using an Intel processor following in January.