While a few fans are clamoring for Microsoft to design its own high performance ARM chip, it seems increasingly likely that the company will stick with the Tegra 4 solution from NVIDIA.
Surface 2 rumors have been floating up regularly these past couple of weeks, and we even have news of an event that Microsoft has scheduled for September 23 in New York where it will officially unveil its next generation Surface slates.
At the same time the company is working on new accessories for its Surface lineup of devices.
But while the Surface Pro 2 is said to be a simple upgrade of processor and memory capacity, the next generation Surface RT along with the rumored Surface Mini are of great interest — Microsoft seems to be putting all its weight behind Windows RT, even as hardware partners are dumping the platform.
Now Paul Thurrott is reporting that Microsoft is going to call the next generation Surface RT, just the Surface, and the device is to be equipped with a Tegra 4 processor, an evolutionary step up.
And this increased processing power means that the device will feature a full HD 1080p display. Even the RAM is expected to be bumped to 4GB, which in of itself should provide even more headroom for speedy and silky smooth performance.
What is not known, however, is whether this memory upgrade will be like the Surface Pro 2, which is said come in multiple flavors and multiple capacities of RAM.
Anyway, these hardware upgrades should result in a tablet is able to run Windows RT (and a lot of Metro apps from the Windows Store) with considerable ease — unlike the current generation Surface RT model that occasionally stutters and has to catch its breath during intensive tasks.
And judging by how things are shaping up, Microsoft seems poised to put this refreshed product on store shelves in October, around the same time Windows 8.1 hits general availability.
No idea yet on pricing, though, and whether the company plans to start things at $349 or go in with what the Surface RT initially retailed for, at $499.
