Like other Windows 8 machines, the Surface starts up in the new, radically different, tile-based Start screen.

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Microsoft is pushing Talisman, another tile-based architecture, for which Fujitsu will launch the first chip later this year.

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That's not to say the Focus isn't a sweet device, though: The vivid Super AMOLED display makes Windows Phone 7's colorful tile-based interface a visual treat.

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The display is outstanding with the Windows 8 tile-based Modern UI but in desktop mode, icons and text are almost too small because of the dense resolution.

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The live-tile design is strikingly different from the icon-based environment we find on Android devices and the iPhone.

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Rather than create a native app the BBC plans to allow a web-based version of iPlayer to be accessed via a live tile - or square icon - on the Windows Phone home screen.

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