Microsoft fan site puts hands-on with never-released Surface Mini tablet

A Microsoft fan site has posted a hands-on with the never-released smaller Surface tablet, the Surface Mini. While the site doesn’t publish any photos, it does give an impression of the tablet that Microsoft reportedly canceled just before release.

The Surface Mini looks like a smaller Surface Pro 3, says Neowin. The stylus that Microsoft supplies with the larger tablet is also included. There is a kickstand in the cover that comes with it; that cover covers the front of the tablet and offers space to store the stylus.

The tablet has large bezels for a small tablet, Neowin notes. The Surface Mini has a Windows key and front camera for use with Skype. The tablet has an 8″ screen with an unknown resolution and runs on an unnamed Qualcomm Snapdragon-soc. Because it is an ARM processor, the Windows version used is RT 8.1. The RAM has a size of 1GB.

The Surface Mini was reportedly ready to be released: Microsoft hinted at the smaller tablet in an invitation, but just before the unveiling, the Redmond-based company canceled the release because the tablet would not be distinctive enough against the competition.