By far not all hardware partners of Microsoft Corp. like the idea of the company's own-brand Surface tablets, as the latter not only compete against products by dedicated device makers, but also set up a standard for Windows-powered hardware. But while Surface tablets have not yet hit the market, Microsoft is already hard at work on next-generation Surface products.

The world's largest software designer is hiring engineers to develop next-generation Surface products, according to job postings over the company's web-site. Nothing particular is known about the nature of the future Surface devices, and it is even indefinite whether those products will actually be media tablets, smartphones, notebooks or convertibles. What is understandable is that Microsoft is taking Surface seriously and has multiple gadgets in development.

"The Surface team focuses on building devices that fully express the Windows vision. A fundamental part of our strategy is having desirable and powerful devices that enable the experiences people want, and elicit their excitement. Creating these devices involves a close partnership between hardware and software engineers, designers, and manufacturing. We are currently building the next generation and Surface needs you," a statement by Microsoft reads.

At present Microsoft is hiring tens of hardware, software, mechanical and other engineers for the Surface team, which proves that the company is considering its own devices as a new business for itself.

The first Surface tablet powered by Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 system-on-chip will be released in late October or early November, 2012. The second tablet will be based on Intel Core i5 microprocessor and will be launched approximately three months after the first one.

Tags: Microsoft, Surface, Windows 8, Windows RT, ARM