Microsoft touts its new Surface Pro 2 and Surface 2 tablets as optimal for productivity, but they’re not just talking about office work. The company has unveiled its Surface Remix Project, which gives users the chance to win a new Surface Music Kit Limited Edition Cover by submitting Vine videos.
Compatible with the Surface 2, Surface Pro and Surface Pro 2, the Surface Music Kit cover is an attachable backlit keyboard that features tools for mixing music rather than traditional keys. Controls include loop, mute and solo functions as well as a full numeric keypad. The accessory comes with an accompanying app that lets you mix tunes, offering up song templates as well as drum, bass, keyboard and vocal tracks among others. The limited edition cover features pressure-sensitive pads that let you toggle sliders for adjusting the volume and FX of any given track.
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Microsoft says that the app and cover automatically sync beats per minute and key so that novices and beginners can create mixes. The Kit also helps users choose which beats and samples work better with one another.
To win a Surface 2 tablet and the Surface Music Kit, Microsoft says you must first follow @Surface on Twitter. Then, participants should tweet a Vine video URL describing how he or she can remix their life with the hash tag #RemixProject. Winners will be notified by Oct. 28. Pricing hasn’t been announced yet, but the Surface Music Kit Limited Edition Cover will debut on Oct. 22 alongside Microsoft’s new Surface line.
Microsoft’s new music accessory and app appear to be competing with Apple’s GarageBand and other third-party DJ apps. The introduction of the Surface Music Kit cover is yet another effort to promote the new Surface slates as productivity devices rather than consumption devices.
