Microsoft announces Surface RT 2

Apart from the Surface Pro 2, Microsoft has also announced another tablet, the Surface 2; a follow-up to the last year’s Surface RT.

MS Surface 2

Now coming in a silver color variant, the Surface 2 packs a much improved 10.6-inch 1080p ClearType HD display. Windows RT 8.1 runs on top of everything as you’d expect, and of course, Microsoft also says that it’s thinner, lighter & faster.

Also, just like the Surface Pro 2, the Surface 2 looks the same on the outside; the Windows logo on the back is now gone, and the word ‘Surface‘ takes its place. The kickstand also goes farther as well, aiming to be able to go over your lap.

Apps have always been a problem for the RT platform, so MS highlights it during the event. They showed off Skype, Xbox Music, Office & SkyDrive – in which you get a lot of those when you purchase a Surface 2 (200GB SkyDrive storage for 2 years, Best Of Skype for 1 year & etc).

The accessories available on the Surface Pro 2 are also available for the Surface 2 as you’d expect. There’s a Power Cover that adds a 30wh battery to the device, a docking station that adds a load of USB ports, ethernet & such, a Type Cover 2 & Touch Cover 2 which are the same ones from last year but thinner, with more colors & now backlit, and there’s a Music Cover.

The Surface 2 will retail for $449 (Php19,500 converted), and along with the Surface Pro 2, it will be available on October 22 in the US. No word on local availability yet.

We will update this article once we get more info on the specs.

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Microsoft Surface Pro 2 now official

Over at New York City, Microsoft has announced the successor to its flagship tablet from last year, the 2nd-gen Microsoft Surface Pro.

MICROSOFT SURFACE 2

The 2nd-gen MS Surface tablets basically look the same on the outside, wrapped around in Microsoft’s magnesium casing. The Windows logo on the back is now gone, and the word ‘Surface‘ takes its place. The kickstand now goes farther as well, aiming to be able to go over your lap.

Basically, everything is better without much aesthetic change. With the Surface Pro 2, Microsoft claims that the 10.6-inch display and the speakers are a lot better, speed is at least 20% faster, graphics performance has improved by 50% and battery life by 75%. This is all probably thanks to the work of Intel’s 4th-generation CPUs – Haswell.

Another story is the availability of so much accessories. There’s a Power Cover that adds a 30wh battery to the device, a docking station that adds a load of USB ports, ethernet & such, a Type Cover 2 & Touch Cover 2 which are the same ones from last year but thinner, with more colors & now backlit, and there’s a Music Cover.

The Surface Pro 2 will retail for $899 (Php39k converted), and along with the Surface 2, it will be available on October 22 in the US. No word on local availability yet.

We will update this article once we get more info on the specs.

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Microsoft Surface 2 tablets to come September 23

Microsoft’s flagship tablets, the Surface RT and the Surface Pro, have been out for a year now. This month, the company plans to unveil the next generation of Surface tablets in New York – set to go out in the limelight with hardware & software improvements.

microsoft-surface

The first tablet, the Surface 2, is expected to continue on where the Surface RT left off. The device will run on an Nvidia Tegra 4 CPU and a 10.1-inch full-HD display. Everything else will remain the same – including, of course, the Windows RT OS, and with the introduction of the new white color variant.

Microsoft Surface Invitation

As for the Surface Pro, we’re expecting the new model to sport the 4th generation Intel Core CPUs, also known as Haswell, 8GB RAM and new accessories in addition to the signature touch-covers.

Windows 8 will be running the show here, and since Windows 8.1 is rolling out in October, we’re guessing the release of the said tablets to be within the same month or later.

Of course, that is all preliminary. We’ll be updating everyone as soon as we get the official details so stay tuned.

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Microsoft Surface Pro in the flesh, first impressions

We received this review unit of the Microsoft Surface Pro last week but we only got to unbox it this week-end. We also got to compare it with our own MS Surface RT (which we reviewed earlier here).

The Surface Pro is the version which closely resembles a full-blown laptop with a powerful Intel Core i5 processor under the hood. The device can be technically considered an ultrabook once you pair it with the keyboard cover.

Based on the design and form factor, the Surface Pro is very similar to the Surface RT although the Pro is slightly thicker than the RT and it comes with a dedicated stylus, just in case you want to draw or sketch on the touchscreen display.

There are two variants of the Surface Pro — one with 64GB SSD and the other with 128GB.

Microsoft Surface Pro specs:
10-inch ClearType HD Display @ 1920×1080 pixels
Intel Core i5
Intel HD Graphics 4000
4GB DDR3 RAM
128GB SSD
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
Rear camera @ 720p
Front-facing webcam @ 720p
USB 3.0 port
microSDXC card slot
Headset jack
Mini DisplayPort
42 W-h battery
Windows 8 Pro
10.81 x 6.81 x 0.53 inches (dimensions)
2lbs (weight)

The pen/stylus comes with the box while the keyboard attachment and cover is sold separately.

The tablet has a built-in metal stand at the back which flips out to give you a free-standing position at about 135-degrees angle. The extra sheet of metal that connects with the stand probably serves as some sort of ventilation (the device can heat up fairly fast).

Using either the stylus, the trackpad on the cover or an external mouse (via USB or Bluetooth), the Surface Pro can basically do anything a regular laptop or ultrabook can — including some serious gaming, video and office productivity (Photoshop/Premiere) and everything else in between.

For the most part, we can theoretically say it’s a good contender for a netbook replacement and likely candidate as an alternative to an ultrabook.

Unlike the Surface RT which failed to impress us as a laptop replacement, the Surface Pro supports basically all apps and programs we run on our regular Windows machine.

We still need to spend some more time with it, use the device as a laptop replacement and observe any difference (good or bad) from this kind of setup. We will get back to you for the full review in a week or two.

The device is not officially released here in the Philippines but there are several grey market units already selling them in the Php60k range. The review unit was lent to us by the good folks from Galleon.ph (see listing of the Surface Pro here). They have order-basis units starting at Php49k for the Core i5 model.

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Microsoft Surface Pro pricing and availability announced

A month after the release of the Surface RT tablet, Microsoft has finally released information about the pricing and availability of the highly anticipated Surface Pro.

On the outside, the Surface Pro almost has the same look as the RT version so you still get the same VaporMg casing and its overly hyped kickstand. The inside, however, is totally different. The Surface Pro has a higher display resolution, an Intel processor to run regular desktop applications and a bigger RAM. Because of that, the Pro is thicker and heavier than the RT. Take a look at the comparison table below:

Now for the price, the Surface Pro has a price tag of $899 for the 64GB version and $999 for the 128GB and both will ship with a Surface pen. The Touch Cover and Type Cover are optional extras. The Surface Pro will be available in the US starting January of next year.

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