Microsoft Unveils Signature Type Cover for Surface Pro 4

A computer is, by definition, a more or less utilitarian tool. Still, people like to make it their own, which is why Microsoft offers an array of color choices for the Surface Pro 4 keyboard covers and Surface Pens. At Milan Design Week in Italy, Microsoft just announced a new cover–the Signature Type Cover–that raises the bar for personal expression to make the Surface Pro 4 a unique and luxurious fashion statement.

Microsoft and Milan Design Week don’t often go together in a sentence. Microsoft traveled to Italy this year for Milan Design Week, though, to launch its new luxury keyboard cover for the Surface Pro 4—the Signature Type Cover.

The Surface Pro 4 is a fantastic device. It is a marvel of engineering to fit a complete Windows PC into a tablet so thin and light. Of course, if you really want it to live up to the “tablet that can replace your laptop” tagline, you need to have a keyboard cover so it can function in a laptop mode.

I’ve maintained since Microsoft first launched the Surface Pro line that the keyboard cover should be bundled by default. The Surface Pro 4 is a tablet form factor, but the real value is that when paired with a keyboard cover it functions as a laptop…that can also be removed and used as a tablet when necessary or convenient.

This new Signature Type Cover goes above and beyond that baseline functionality, though, and provides a uniquely luxurious look and feel for the Surface Pro 4. A Microsoft blog post explains, “For the new Signature Type Cover, we wanted to make a cover that not only looks good, but feels great to hold in your hand and can stand the test of time. We needed something that was both durable and beautiful.”

That brings us back to Milan Design Week. Why did Microsoft choose this particular event as the platform for announcing the Signature Type Cover? The reason is that the exquisite feel of the Signature Type Cover is from a material called Alcantara, which is found in the village of Nera Montoro in Italy.

This is not just a keyboard cover for your Surface Pro 4. Microsoft wants the Signature Type Cover to be an expression of style. Microsoft claims the Alcantara material provides unique sensory qualities, and that the two-tone grey mélange effect grows richer and darker as it ages—resulting in no two covers truly being the same. According to the Microsoft blog post, “Each Signature Type Cover takes five weeks to produce, as the material is extruded and crimped, needle-punched and dyed. The final product blends Italian luxury, a Finnish minimalistic design aesthetic and durability that helps it improve with age, like a good leather jacket.”

Check out the full story at Forbes: Cover Your Surface Pro 4 With Luxury And Style.