At a major press event in Manhattan held on Monday, Microsoft unveiled the update to its flagship tablet device the Microsoft Surface Pro 2. The device is a tablet that converts into a laptop with a simple kickstand and keyboard attachment. It is Microsoft's update to a piece of hardware.
"I want you to love this product," said Panos Panay, a corporate vice president with Microsoft and the head of the Surface product division at the product launch. "This thing is a beast."
According to Fox News the company likely not only wants customers to love this product but it needs them to as well. Microsoft has been struggling as a personal computer maker in a world where the personal computer is becoming more and more obsolete as people shift over to mobile smartphones and tablets.
The Surface Pro 2 is very similar, if not identical, to the earlier version of the tablet, at least in terms of outward appearance. However, the device costs an extra $100 than its predecessor, so naturally there must be something new to merit the price increase. The Surface's claim to fame has always been its ability to kickstand and become a laptop. Now there's a new position on the Surface Pro 2 that makes it fit more easily on laps.
The device also includes a Haswell chip from Intel, which increases the device's batter life by about 75 percent. The Touch covers are a nice new addition to the device that gives it that much more ability to replace someone's laptop. The covers are felt-like but integrate a full keyboard.
The Surface Pro 2 also comes with a pen that will be bundled into the $899 base configuration. Apart from raw performance, its updated features in a bevy of ways to help improve the user experience, according to Endgadget. Only time will tell if customers are really willing to adapt to the device, with its high price-tag and use of the floundering Windows 8 mobile operating system. Until then, users can check out the device for themselves and see if Microsoft is knocking on the door of the newest innovation in personal computers.
Microsoft will be allowing pre orders the computers at 8 a.m. ET on Sept. 24 in America, the U.K., Austrailia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, hony Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. China will receive the device in November. The device goes on sale everywhere Oct. 22.
