Integrated Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity further expands the peripheral hardware options for users.

ENGADGET: Pandigital Supernova available mid-October for $230, is an eReader in Android tablet disguise

As the Intel-based Windows 8 begins to proliferate across a wide range of devices and developers seek to capitalize on distribution via the Windows app store, a broader mosaic of Live Tiles will lie waiting to take advantage of Surface's attractive hardware options.

ENGADGET: Switched On: Tablets and tradeoffs

In particular the web giant is exploring hardware authentication options and experimenting with a device called YubiKey -- a USB-based token system.

ENGADGET