Unswayed by a lack of shopper interest, Microsoft is forging ahead with its Surface tablets, creating a thinner, lighter sequel to last year’s Surface RT.
Announced alongside the full-fat Windows 8 Surface Pro 2, Microsoft says it has dramatically increased processing speed for the Surface 2, and has also bolted on a 1080p display — a step up from the Surface RT’s 1,366×768 pixel resolution.
The Surface 2 will arrive running Windows 8.1, the update to Windows 8 that will arrive on 17 October for £75. It’s powered by Nvidia’s Tegra 4 chip.
Microsoft said there are now 100,000 apps in the Windows Store. The extra glut of apps is helpful, because the Surface 2 runs Windows RT, which only lets you install apps from Microsoft’s own app store.
The Surface 2 will be out on 22 October in the US, and will cost $449. We’ll let you know as soon as we have UK-centric price and release date info.
Microsoft hasn’t had much luck with its Surface tablets so far, which have been pricey, and have arrived in the UK quite a while after their initial US launch. Will the company behind Clippy turn things around with the newest models, or is the Surface 2 doomed? Let me know your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook wall.
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Microsoft Surface 2 hands-on
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