MSFT Microsoft Corporation

By Wilson Rothman 

With the introduction of the Surface Studio all-in-one desktop PC on Wednesday, Microsoft Corp. continued its push into high-end hardware. The $2,999 machine's design features and build quality -- not to mention its specs -- appear to keep up with its sky-high price.

We'll be putting the system through a full review soon, but our first look, following its unveiling, was promising. And as much as it looks like an iMac (and it is, indeed, an iMac competitor), it's the differences that drew my attention.

In a world of thin LCD screens, this one didn't stand out as much as the shiny chrome hinges that hold it up, and the tidy little box it's connected to. Apple Inc. packs all of its electronics into the iMac screen itself, relying on a heavy base to keep it from tipping over. Microsoft is using the electronics as ballast, so the system feels lighter but no less sturdy.

You can't just flip the screen backward. Instead, the hinges on the base and the back of the LCD work in tandem. A gentle push on the top of the screen brings the bottom forward, until the whole screen comes to rest on the tabletop. Microsoft encourages you to lean against it, as you would a drafting table. It's stable, and the computer can recognize -- and ignore -- your arm as it rests against the touch screen.

The display is beautiful, a 28-inch screen with a 4x3 aspect ratio and over 13 million pixels. (By comparison, a 4K TV has just over 8 million pixels, while Apple's 5K iMac has nearly 15 million pixels.) The color gamut is tuned to meet the requirements of photographers, illustrators and video producers who need to know exactly how green their greens are. Needless to say, it's vivid.

As a Surface, it's a touch screen, but it also responds to the pen and a new product, called the Surface Dial. This accessory -- sold separately for $99 -- is both a wheel and a button: spin it or press it. If you set it on a tabletop, you could adjust volume, scroll through documents, zoom in and out of images and more, depending on the app. (Microsoft says it's compatible with any device that runs Windows 10 Anniversary Edition.)

But when you stick it on the Surface Studio's screen, the computer recognizes it, and compatible apps can incorporate it as an on-screen tool. In an architectural demo, when placed on a blueprint, it became a zoom dial, but when it was moved to the side, it immediately changed to a scroll wheel. Imagine a music mixing board, where the producer places it on different parts of the screen to instantly get subtle control over different channels or effects.

As cool as it is, the Dial will appeal only to people whose needs are so intense, they already know they want one. Writing and drawing with a pen are slightly more mainstream activities, but again, they're still mainly targeted at professionals who already doodle on tablets. Since many of these right-brained types have traditionally been on Macs, it isn't clear if there is enough here to draw them out of Apple's universe, but Microsoft is certainly making an argument.

For people who have long used Windows, and have been dying for an excuse to put the wheezing old family PC out to pasture, this represents a tantalizing, if spendy, upgrade opportunity. Microsoft is confident in its appeal: It expects to sell out during the holidays.

Write to Wilson Rothman at wilson.rothman@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 26, 2016 16:24 ET (20:24 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.