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Microsoft on Tuesday unveiled its first laptop: the Microsoft Surface Book, a 13-inch touch-screen device that also comes apart to become a tablet. "This is the ultimate laptop," Microsoft's Panos Panay said. It has two processors and a dedicated graphics-card system. Microsoft says the laptop is twice as fast as a Macbook Pro. Pricing starts at $1,499, and the laptop will be available on October 26. As with many devices in the Surface line, the Surface Book can detach from its keyboard to become a tablet. The keyboard can then dock on the back of the tablet to keep it...

In 2012, when Microsoft first introduced the Surface Pro — a tablet that was also a laptop — it became an industry punch line. “You can merge a toaster and a refrigerator, but that’s probably not going to be pleasing to anyone," quipped Apple CEO Tim Cook. Nobody's laughing now. And Microsoft is looking more and more like a trendsetter. Three years after Cook's jab, the Surface Pro 3 is selling strong — strong enough that Microsoft is expected to launch a much-anticipated Surface Pro 4 at a special event on Tuesday. In the meantime, Apple and Google have started...