In addition to the Surface Pro 2, Microsoft today also announced the new Surface 2 tablet. Featuring a thinner, lighter chassis, Microsoft touts the Surface 2 as a “revamp” that is faster than any personal tablets. Interestingly, the Surface 2 tablet will run on Windows 8.1 RT.
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The new Surface 2 tablet runs on the new NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor. Connectivity wise, the Surface 2 has a microSD card slot, one USB 3.0 port, and “HD video out” – we’re not too sure what Microsoft means here. It will also be available in 32GB and 64GB configurations, while battery life has been touted as 10 hours of video playback.
What’s also interesting to note is the new Touch Cover 2, which has been significantly updated from the first-generation Touch Cover. For one, it is now backlit like the Type Cover 2, but the more amazing feature here is the fact that not only the Touch Cover 2 is 1mm thinner than the original Touch Cover, the new Touch Cover 2 has almost 14 times the amount of sensors underneath the keyboard. With 1092 sensors (compared to just 80 previously) as well as built-in predictive typing, Microsoft is promising a much better typing experience with the Touch Cover 2. In addition, the company has also announced the Surface Remix Project, which aims to explore new possibilities with the Touch Cover 2.
Each Surface 2 tablet will also come pre-installed with Microsoft’s Office 2013 RT productivity suite, which includes four Office RT software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote) as well as Outlook RT.
Like the Surface Pro 2, each purchase of the Surface 2 will come with 200GB free SkyDrive cloud storage for two years, as well as the “Best of Skype” package: one year’s worth of free international calls as well as Skype WiFi hotspots.
The Microsoft Surface 2 tablet will be available from October 22 in 21 selected markets around the world: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, and the US. The 32GB version will retail at $449 (around RM1410) while the 64GB variant will be on sale at $549 (around RM1720).
Find out more about the new Surface Pro 2 tablet at its new official website here.
(Source: The Verge)
