After 18 months in the making, Microsoft’s next-gen Surface tablet is finally here. The Surface 2 is thinner, lighter, and faster than its predecessor, and comes with nifty new kickstands that open up in dual angles.
In addition to its classic slatelike black body, the Surface 2 now sports a new silver magnesium body too, but still retains its sleek angular design. The tablet is also thinner at 8.9mm and weighs a little less at 676 grams.
To address concerns around the original Surface RT’s slow performance and low screen resolution, Microsoft has bumped the specifications of Surface 2 to the Nvidia Tegra 4 processor, upgraded the 1366×768 screen to the new 1920×1080 ClearType display, and extended the battery life.
Not only has Microsoft made improvements to the hardware on the Surface 2, the tech giant has also given the tablet a revamp on the software front.
Running on Windows 8.1 RT, Surface 2 is now pre-loaded with Outlook, one of the key software missing in the first generation. Outlook will be bundled in with the RT version of Microsoft Office.
Another key addition to the Surface 2 is a tighter SkyDrive integration, giving users the ability to save their files directly to the cloud. For every purchase of the Surface 2, customers will get 200GB of SkyDrive storage for two years at no cost. This comes in really useful for power users who need a bigger space to house their documents or photos.
What’s more, unlimited free Skype calls to landlines in 60 countries and free Skype WiFi at over two million hotspots for a year sweeten the deal.
If you are looking for a pretty solid tablet for your daily personal usage, the Surface 2 is definitely a great deal. Microsoft labels the Surface as the “most productive tablet for personal use”, and this is especially so with the enhanced SkyDrive integration, as well as the addition of Outlook RT. And with the number of apps on the Windows Store recently crossing the 100,000 mark, it’s interesting to see that Windows is gaining some pretty steady momentum.
Planning to get your hands to the Surface 2 tablet? Unfortunately, Singapore is not listed as one of the first 22 markets where the Surface 2 will be shipping to. The Surface 2 comes with a price tag of US$449 for the basic 32GB model.
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One Response to “Microsoft Surface 2: Should you get it?”
wasabigeek
Oh, I thought they recently mentioned it would be available through commercial partners!
http://blog.surface.com/b/surface/archive/2013/09/30/adding-new-business-customers-and-expanding-our-partner-ecosystem-including-resellers-isvs-and-accessories.aspx