Microsoft Surface 2.0 multi-touch tabletop availability pushed back to January 2012

The Samsung SUR40 Surface 2.0 multi-touch tabletop unveiled by Microsoft in January 2011 won't be available for purchase until January 2012.

Microsoft officials have been promising for months that the next-generation version of its Surface system would be available for purchase in 23 countries before the end of 2011. I had heard from some Surface developers there were some issues with the software powering the devices. But when I contacted Samsung, the OEM making the Surface 2.0 devices, via e-mail, I was told on October 12 that the SUR40 is now officially a January 2012 deliverable.

(I've asked Microsoft officials for more on any possible software issues affecting product availability and will add an update if and when one is provided.)

The Surface 2.0, expected to be priced around $7,600, can be used as a table, a wall-mountable and/or vertical/horizontal kiosk. It features a 40-inch HD 1080p screen and is four inches thin (including the glass, PC and enclosure).

The Surface 2.0 runs an embedded version of 64-bit Windows 7 Professional.Microsoft introduced a software-development kit for the Surface 2.0 in July 2011.

Microsoft officials have been touting the potential appeal of the Surface 2.0, alongside the Xbox and Kinect, in healthcare, among other verticals.