Microsoft erects a giant Surface tablet in the center of London

Microsoft has a fascination with big screens. The software giant has demonstrated Windows 8 on its 82-inch Perceptive Pixel PC and created giant displays with Kinect built in. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates even uses a giant 80-inch Windows 8 display occasionally. Today, however, Microsoft is going one step further. At one of London’s biggest tourist attractions, Trafalgar Square, the company has created a 383-inch Surface tablet.

Sitting right next to Nelson’s Column, the giant Surface dwarfs all the other historic statues at Trafalgar Square. Microsoft built the structure in around 12 hours, and it's 27 feet wide and 17 feet high, making it a roughly 383-inch display. A purple Type Cover 2 has been recreated, with keys that feed back to a Surface Pro 2 nearby. Microsoft is letting nearby school kids play on the keyboard with a spelling game. It’s all connected via USB and Micro HDMI and you can jump on the keys to control the input. The company has even built space around the keys so you can walk around them before you select the correct key to jump on. We tried the keyboard with the Twitter app for Windows 8, and it worked surprisingly well.

It’s all a publicity stunt in the center of London, designed to market Microsoft’s recently released Surface 2. Thousands of tourists and workers pass through Trafalgar Square each day, so Microsoft has clearly picked an ideal location for its giant Surface tablet. It might not be a giant Windows Phone or a giant Surface cake, but it’s just as impressive. Fox News must be jealous.