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Microsoft has made a new version of its Surface Pro tablet, that it claims is 20 per cent faster than the previous model.
Microsoft Surface Pro 2
The Surface Pro 2 has new Intel Haswell chips, and features a kickstand that folds out to extra angles, in a bid to make the tablet more comfortable to place in your lap.
Microsoft is also touting 75 per cent better battery life. That’s a very bold claim, and will be impressive if it turns out to be true. As always, wait for the official CNET review before throwing down your cash.
In development for 18 months, Microsoft says its new slate, which looks very similar to the first version, is faster than 95 per cent of laptops today. It comes with Dolby speakers, and Ballmer and pals are also boasting that the screen produces more accurate colours.
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Microsoft Surface Pro 2 hands-on
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New accessories
Hurrah — there are brand new Surface accessories to buy. A new fabric-covered ‘Power Cover’ keyboard clips onto the Surface Pro 2 and provides extra battery life, while a ‘Docking Station’ dock makes the tablet compatible with two external monitors, and features three USB 3.0 ports, one USB 1.0 port, a Mini DisplayPort, Ethernet and audio input and output sockets.
A new backlit Type Cover (called Type Cover 2, natch) has also been crafted, that’s a whole millimetre thinner than the last one. Microsoft says it’s almost as thin as the first Touch Cover, which doesn’t have mechanical keys. Expect to see the Type Cover 2 arrive next year.
Microsoft’s first Surface didn’t prove successful, with Ballmer and pals writing off a shocking $900 million loss on the company’s first tablet. It didn’t help that there were very few places you could actually buy the Surface, or that it arrived in the UK a long time after its US debut.
Image credit: The Verge
