Xbox Surface 7-inch gaming tablet reaches "initial hardware planning stage" - rumor

Xbox Surface is a 7-inch gaming tablet reportedly in development at Microsoft.

According to multiple sources familiar with the project, the tablet has reached the initial hardware planning stage, according to The Verge.

Specifications for Xbox Surface first emerged back in June just before the firm's Surface RT and Surface Pro were announced.

The specs listed, according to the sources, are "accurate" and final implementation "is being worked on," with the tablet reportedly containing an ARM processor and high-bandwidth RAM for games.

It is also being said the tablet could contain the Intel SoC and while it won't run the full version of Windows 8, it will run a custom Windows kernel.

The Verge notes part of Xbox Surface is being developed at Microsoft's offices in Silicon Valley, where recent lock downs at several Xbox-related buildings have taken place.