ChannelLife New Zealand - Industry insider news for technology resellers
Story image
Microsoft set for Surface 2.0 launch
Tue, 10th Sep 2013
FYI, this story is more than a year old

Invites for the forthcoming Surface 2.0 event in New York have been posted, an event where Microsoft is expected to show off new Surface hardware.

Set for September 23, it appears the company's recent US$900m loss on the original Surface hasn't put off Steve Ballmer and co.

But while Redmond has so far remained coy on what exactly the event will be about, the name suggests a Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 are on the cards.

"Let’s be frank," wrote TechCrunch journalist Alex Wilhelm.

"Microsoft would not invite us all over for a hands-on session without having something worth touching.

"And that means it’s more than a new Touch Cover. And that means a new Surface (or two!), as expected."

Reacting to the news, The Verge claims to have inside information on the launch, reporting:"We're told that the Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 will include a two-stage kickstand, but the main design of both tablets will remain very similar to the existing models.

"Microsoft will also upgrade its Surface Pro 2 to Intel's new Haswell processor, and the company is planning to ship units with 8GB of RAM on board.

"The Haswell upgrade will improve the battery life on the Surface Pro 2, but not significantly. We're told Haswell will add just over two hours of usage to the Surface Pro 2."

On the Surface 2 side however, rumours suggest the tech giant will stick with Windows RT 8.1, possessing an eight hour battery life also.

What are you expecting from Microsoft on September 23? Tell us your predictions below