Microsoft took a colossal $900 million inventory adjustment on Surface RT in July that left people questioning the very future of Microsoft-branded tablets.
Surface RT was the first personal computer that Microsoft produced itself and it ran the flavor of Windows designed mainly for the tablet user. Its pricier Surface Pro sibling ran a full version of Windows 8, and unlike RT, was compatible with older "legacy" Windows PC software making it more of the true laptop replacement Microsoft positions it to be.
Either way, Microsoft didn't exactly have a hit on its hands.
Microsoft isn't surrendering to the iPad (which is expected to be refreshed Tuesday) or for that matter the company's various hardware partners-turned-rivals that also have a stake in Windows 8. Nokia, which is soon to be under Microsoft, is also expected to unveil a new tablet this week.
I've had a chance to check out the two new machines Microsoft hopes will turn around its tablet business, ahead of their Tuesday launch. There's Surface 2 that runs Windows RT 8.1 and ranges from $449 to $549, and Surface Pro 2 that runs Windows 8.1 Pro and fetches between $899 and $1,799.
Make no mistake, Microsoft has made more than surface improvements to its tablets, and the move to Windows 8.1 software, which addresses prior shortcomings, is also significant. But challenges remain. As a tablet neither Surface can outduel the iPad. And I'm not fully sold on the Pro model as the ideal full-time laptop substitute.
I say that liking a lot of what Microsoft has done here. The latest hardware sports amped up processing power, longer battery life, improved cameras, and in the case of Surface 2 a step up in screen quality to a 10.6-inch Full HD 1080p multi-touch display. (Surface Pro was already delivering Full HD in a 10.6-inch screen.).
Surface 2 also gets a single USB 3.0 port — it was a 2.0 port last time. Both slates have memory card readers.
At 1.5 pounds, Surface 2 is a shade thinner and lighter than its predecessor. The biggest cosmetic change is Surface 2 now comes in an Apple-like magnesium silver color compared to the dark titanium hue of the original.
Meantime, the 2-pound Pro 2, pretty heavy and bulky for a tablet, weighs the same and is practically a dead ringer for the first Pro.
Changes from the original Surface
The original Surface models were noted for a kickstand attached to the back that propped it up on a tabletop as you took in a video. But some folks complained it was hard to use on your lap, so Microsoft added a second kickstand position that simplifies usability on your lap.
In its first iteration, Surface RT included Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote from the Microsoft Office suite. But Outlook was missing in action. That unfortunate oversight has been remedied with Surface 2. (You'll have to pay to use Office on the Pro model.)
Last time around, Microsoft did a lot right with clever keyboard covers that bring real Qwerty typing to these contraptions — these really were must-have accessories if you wanted to get productive work done. Microsoft has improved those optional accessories. So now, we have a back-lit thinner and lighter Touch Cover 2 (about $120) that Microsoft claims you can type up to two times faster than using an onscreen keyboard.
I actually prefer using the Type Cover 2 (about $130) because it provides some of the "travel" on the keys that I'm accustomed to on a regular laptop, though it still won't make you forget, say, a good ThinkPad keyboard. Type Cover 2 is backlit and available in different colors, with a touchpad you can use for gestures. As before, you hear a distinctive click sound when you magnetically snap these accessories onto the tablet.
Early next year, Microsoft is planning to bring out a $200 keyboard cover with a built in battery that it says will bolster battery life on the tablet up to 50%.
The battery life on the latest slates is improved but nothing to write home about. In my very harsh test in which I crank the brightness all the way up and stream video over Wi-Fi, Surface 2 approached seven hours of juice, while Pro exceeded five hours. That's better than the six hours and three-and-a-half hours of battery life I got with their predecessors on similar tests.
Surface 2 costs $449 for 32GB, $549 for 64GB. Surface Pro 2, which comes with a digitizer pen, costs $899, $999, $1,299 or $1,799, for 64GB, 128GB, 256GB and 512GB, respectively.
Buy either tablet, and Microsoft throws in a nice bonus: a year of free Skype calling to landlines in more than 60 countries, unlimited Skype Wi-Fi, 200GB of free storage on Microsoft's SkyDrive online locker for two years.
I mostly appreciate what Microsoft has done with the hardware but I'm not betting on a major surge in sales either. Consider the drawbacks: the Pro device is pricey (especially when you lop on the cost of the keyboard covers). Surface 2 still doesn't run your older software.
And then there's Windows 8 (now 8.1) itself. I happen to like the operating system more than some, but understand the confusion its bipolar characteristics brings to the table. Microsoft has been trying to have it all, an operating system that appeals equally well to tablet users who have come to rely on multi-touch screens, but also those who prefer a more traditional mouse/keyboard /PC approach.
So you have a Windows that in its touch environment is built around a fresh live-tile based interface yet one that doesn't totally abandon a desktop view more reminiscent of of Windows from yesteryear.
Microsoft took some heat for doing away with the Start button and menu inherent in the old Windows, and with Windows 8.1, the Start button has been restored. But it's only a half-step back. Tapping Start in the desktop environment only brings you back to the tile interface.
You do have the option to boot up into either environment, and the 8.1-update introduces more polish and customization overall. Bing Search is neatly integrated, I like how you can display (and resize) windows side by side, and even the app count is slowly but surely rising. It is up to 110,000 now, still far behind rivals.
By now the folks who jumped on the Windows 8 bus should be accustomed to the way things are done. But it seems just as many PC devotees stuck with Windows 7, because of how radically different Windows 8 proved to be.
If you are willing to consider Microsoft's latest tablets, you have some decisions to make: Go with an RT device that is far less expensive but that can't run older software. Or splurge on the pricier Pro model that can (keeping in mind you may have to connect an optical drive) handle older software but doesn't deliver as long a battery. And if you're going to go the latter route, then you're not only comparing Surface Pro to other tablets, but to a wide range of excellent laptops, a comparison Surface Pro is not always going to win.
Source : USA Today
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