he second generation of the Microsoft Surface tablet will be launched tomorrow (September 23rd) at an invitation only event in New York City.
Over the past month there have been many leaks as to what consumers can expect from the new Surface 2. Microsoft has neither confirmed or denied the leaked information leading people to speculate that the leaks are “on target” for what’s to come in the new generation.
As far as the look goes, there will not be anything new to brag about. It will be the same 10.6 inch screen and VaporMg casing. It will also have the same snap-on keyboard compatibility as the current Surface.
The new Surface will have exact same number of USB ports as its predecessor and will be a wifi only device. There will be no 4G LTE support in this release. It will have a Tegra 4 processor, but the new Surface Pro (2nd gen) will have an i5 Haswell processor and get 7-8 hours of life out of the battery. The display will feature the Clear Type full HD display.
One of the more anticipated features rumored to be part of the new generation is the docking station which Microsoft had said that they were not going to release for the Surface. Granted it will only be compatible for the Surface Pro and Surface Pro 2 models. You can expect it to include on USB 3 port as well as 2 USB 2 ports built into the dock.
The new Surface Power Cover is another peripheral that has got users excited is the Surface Power Cover. This new cover will be thicker and tougher and will also have a built in battery which will extend the battery life by an undisclosed amount. You can expect them to be showing this off during the announcement tomorrow.
You can expect the new Surface to be available in mid October. It’s expected that the new Surface will become available for purchase around the same time that Windows 8.1 is available to the general public. It is not known whether Microsoft will be taking pre-orders on the new Surface.
For those looking for some price reductions due to the slow sales of the first generation of the Surface, don’t get too excited. It doesn’t look like Microsoft made any real cuts to the pricing of the new version. Sources say that they are planning to keep selling their RT version along side the new version. They are expected to keep the price of the 1st gen at $350 for the 32GB version with no cover. The 32 GB Surface 2 will be listed at $500 and the 64 GB version is expected to start at $600.
The Surface Pro will continue to start at $800 and the new version will start at $900 for a 64 GB version. There will also be a 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB versions available for the Pro Version. Those models will be priced at $1000, $1300, and $1700 according to sources.
Touch, type, and docking stations will be priced separately. Do keep in mind that the pricing of the device is from leaked sources and might be a little off from what is announced during the launch on September 23rd.