Hot on the heels of the Surface Pro unveiling, we now have the official confirmation of the successor to the Surface RT, simply called the Surface. The Windows RT slate was just unveiled by Microsoft a few minutes back.
And golly, is it a looker or what — the new Surface 2 is faster, lighter and downright gorgeous.
The tablet now also comes in silver in addition the default black, and there is word that even a white version is a possibility down the road.
The device comes with improved hardware and runs Windows RT 8.1. And just like the Pro 2 version, the new Surface 2 has the branding on the kickstand compared to the first generation models that had a Windows logo there.
Before we get to the underlying hardware, here is what Panos Panay, the head of the Surface division over at Microsoft, has to say on the device:
“It is much faster – now with 72 graphics cores, twice the internet speed, and USB 3.0. It is even more beautiful – with an enticing new color that reflects the true color of Magnesium, a full HD screen, and a thinner and lighter design.
And most importantly, it is even more productive – now with Outlook RT which is how I do email, a 3.5MP front-facing camera optimized for Skype for my video calls home or video messages when we can’t connect.”
The man said it all — the device is a definite improvement on all fronts compared to the first generation Surface RT. And the most obvious difference is the full 1080p ClearType display, all thanks to the improved capabilities of the NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor.
Office 2013 RT Home & Student will be offered for free to all buyers.
Speaking in terms of battery life, the Surface 2 has enough juice to last for around 10 hours, again all due to the optimizations made in Tegra 4.
All Comments
Now I can say there’s a tablet you can game with. Any news on a bigger hard drive?
I think they said 512GB
Surface 2 (the Windows RT powered slate), Dexter, sadly remains at 32GB and 64GB. Which is unfortunately, when you consider that slotting in at 128GB would have satisfied dedicated users that want everything on their slate.
Yes, there is expandable storage, but an option wouldn’t hurt, eh?
And as Onuora confirms below, the Surface Pro 2 is getting an option of 512GB, which is the biggest you can possibly get shy of the ultra expensive 1TB SSDs. Good for power users, surely!
Thanks Fahad (and Onuora). As a musician, programmer and avid gamer, I’ve always had to custom build computers to meet my needs with software, audio engineering, of course games, and so on. 512GB is a pretty good start. I needed something portable and was considering purchasing a customized Toshiba Qosimo, but this with the accessories just became a very viable choice
You’re welcome, man! 🙂 And yes, the updated Surface Pro should last you at least three good years before even thinking about the need to upgrade. Intel’s processors usually gain 10% performance increase in core processing (the graphics are usually doubled with each new generation), and we are going to soon approach the time when battery enhancements will have to factor in the displays and the battery technology itself. Meaning 24 hours of usage on a single charge is a distant reality for now.
So a Haswell chip, and what it brings, should be more than enough for your needs!
games on!
office is free and so is 200gig of SkyDrive for 2 years and 1 year of free international Skype calls.
Yeah…this all sounds good, BUT, is it worth $500.00 when the Nokia Lumia 2520 is suppose to have a 2.15 GHZ quad core Qualcomm 8974 chipset making it faster and be the same price.
is an apple worth as much as an orange?