Skimming along with Surface 2

MICROSOFT Malaysia rolled out its Microsoft Surface 2, along with Type Cover 2 and Touch Cover 2 ­recently.
Sunny Ooi, ­the company’s ­consumer channels group director, said the launch was in line with a Microsoft online survey in Asia which showed that top on the 2014 tech wishlist for consumers was a tablet that enables them to be productive for both work and play.
“Surface 2 builds on the strength of the Surface value proposition that enables portability and productivity in one sleek device, and is the most productive tablet for personal use in the market today.”
Available in 32GB and 64GB variants, the Surface 2 features 10.6-inch ClearType Full HD display that renders 1080p video, dual-angle kickstand and an impressive battery life with up to 10 hours of video ­playback.
Other hardware specs ­include Nvidia Tegra 4 ­processor, USB 3.0 port for faster file transfer, a five-­megapixel rear and 3.5-megapixel front cameras with both capable of ­capturing 1080p video and low-light performance.
Both variants ship with Windows RT 8.1 complete with utilitarian personalisation search, multi-tasking and built-in apps, and a seamless Windows Store experience with cloud connectivity.
They are also pre-loaded with Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013 RT and Outlook 2013 RT.
There are also more than 140,000 apps in Windows Store available for download – from ­lifestyle to social and games.
In addition to that, new customers will receive free Skype calls to ­landlines in more than 60 countries for one year, unlimited Skype WiFi available at more than two million hot spots worldwide for one year, and 200GB of free OneDrive storage for two years.
The Touch Cover 2 to ­complement the tablet features backlit keys with increased number of sensors for better overall typing experience.
It is spill-resistant and users can also use touch gestures across the keys and touchpad. It comes in black only and sold separately at RM379.
Meanwhile, the Type Cover 2 features the same thin and ­lightweight design of the original Type Cover. The backlit keys are designed for quieter typing and it is available in cyan, magenta, purple and black at RM409.
Meanwhile, the previous ­generation Surface devices – the Surface RT 64GB and the Surface Pro – will continue to be on sale at the revised price of RM1,199 and RM1,889 respectively.
The Surface 2 goes on sale for RM1,399 (32GB) and RM1,699 (64GB).