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Australian prices, dates, features for Microsoft's new Surface 2 and Surface Pro

The Surface Pro 2 is a big deal in the world of tablets, with Microsoft calling it a "tablet with the power of a laptop". See how much it costs and the new features.

By Staff Writers on Sep 24 2013, 11:30AM

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If you haven't seen the Surface, it's part of Microsoft's great hope that we'll start using tablets to do our Windows work. Not only can the Surface run Windows apps, but the Pro version has the same level of processing power you'll find in laptops. In fact, Microsoft calls its new Surface Pro 2 a "tablet with the power of a laptop", but what does that really mean and what can it do? Click the next photo to find out about the two new Surface tablets unveiled today...

What you're looking at in the photo above is one of the two new Microsoft Surface tablets unveiled today: the Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2. So what's the difference? The Surface Pro 2 is the more expensive of the two, with two very important features. First: it can run "regular" Windows desktop programs (the Surface 2 can only run Windows 8 apps). Second: it comes with an Intel Core i5 processor, which means it has the performance comparable to a full size laptop. The price starts at $1,019 for the 64GB version (and that's without the snap-on keyboard). Not cheap, but then again, Microsoft is selling it as "the first device that is a tablet, a laptop and a high powered work station." So what about the Surface 2?

This is the Surface 2. In summary, it is cheaper (starting at $529 for the 32GB version), only runs Windows 8 apps (not desktop software) and has a slower chip that's designed for simpler tasks (not an Intel chip you'll find in laptops). So what other differences are there? Click the next photo...

Storage space is a big deal when it comes to these tablets. The new Surface Pro 2 comes with up to 512GB. It's cheaper brother, the Surface 2, has up to 64GB. Fortunately, Surfae tablets are built so that you can plug in external hard drives (the new Surface 2 now has USB 3 ports for faster transferring of files), unlike an iPad. Click to read about another important improvement...

One of the criticisms of the old Surface was the battery life. Hopefully that has changed - the Surface Pro 2 has up to 60% better battery life according to Microsoft. They say it "lasts almost a whole work day". That sounds impressive, though we we'll wait till we've had the opportunity to test this before coming to any conclusions. Interestingly, you can also now buy a special "Power Cover", which is a snap-on keyboard with a battery inside it. That's something you can also get for some other tablets, like HP's ElitePad.

One of the big trends you'll see is the idea of using these tablets instead of laptops - the snap-on keyboard helps. If you do, you'll find it's lighter than some laptops - the heavier Surface Pro 2 is about 1.15 Kg with the heaviest of the two keyboards. The Surface 2 is even lighter (675 grams without the keyboard).

There are now three keyboards you can buy for the Surface: a Touch Cover 2 ($139.99, touch sensitive), Type Cover 2 ($149.99, actual buttons you can press down), and the Power Cover (extra battery inside). One key improvement is both keyboards now have a backlight for typing at night.

The "Kickstands" is a key design feature of the Surface that makes it different to iPads and other tablets. You can now angle it so it's more comfortable to use when the Surface is on your lap. Interestingly, there will also be a dock you can use to connect your Surface Pro 2 to a monitor, power point, network and speakers. The dock won't be released until next year.

Where can you get it? The Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 will be on sale in Australia from October 22, from MicrosoftStore.com, Harvey Norman and JB Hi-Fi. You can pre-order them from 10 pm AEST on September 24. Interestingly, Microsoft is throwing in a year's free Skype calls to landlines and 200GB of SkyDrive storage for two years.

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Australian prices, dates, features for Microsoft's new Surface 2 and Surface Pro

The Surface Pro 2 is a big deal in the world of tablets, with Microsoft calling it a "tablet with the power of a laptop". See how much it costs and the new features.

Linked Articles

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