Microsoft Surface Event Live Blog
by Brian Klug on September 23, 2013 8:59 AM EST
11:38AM EDT - I think we're wrapping up here, off to get hands on shortly
11:33AM EDT - Specs are up, preorders start 9/24 at 8 AM, launch on 10/22
11:32AM EDT - Surface Remix Project being shown off with those buttons being used for more than just QWERTY
11:30AM EDT - We're looking at how the touch cover sensors can be used for other things like instrument control with pressure sensitivity
11:27AM EDT - Looking at a video of Surface 2, coming 10/22
11:24AM EDT - Gestures on top with these new sensors, new experiences beyond just typing
11:22AM EDT - Many more sensors, 1092 sensors in Touch Cover 2
11:22AM EDT - Touch cover is also backlit now, thinner, more rigid, turns itself off when not being used
11:21AM EDT - Going over everything in Surface 2 - price $449
11:20AM EDT - 200 GB of SkyDrive for 2 years with Surface 2
11:17AM EDT - That front facing video demo was pretty compelling, the lights went down very low in here but exposure looked great on the video preview
11:14AM EDT - Unique lens, able to filter light through the product (need more on this), very low light inside the room right now but the video looks great
11:13AM EDT - Looking at Skype now and how the adjustable angle on Surface 2 helps the front facing camera experience
11:11AM EDT - Surface 2 cameras - back camera is better by 5x (not sure what metric they're referring to), front facing camera is improved
11:10AM EDT - Working and playing at the same time on Surface 2 with Spartan Assault next to Office apps as a crazy example
11:09AM EDT - 72 cores on the GPU right now, Tegra 4 in the Surface 2
11:08AM EDT - Looking at Surface 2 running all four Office apps at the same time
11:06AM EDT - Office comes with Surface 2, full Office Suite
11:05AM EDT - 100k apps in the Windows Store right now
11:05AM EDT - Talking about Surface 2 running RT 8.1 and multi user scenarios at home
11:02AM EDT - 25 percent battery life improvement on Surface 2
11:02AM EDT - Also has the 2-stop kickstand for use on the lap, 2 pieces of magnesium, same process as in the past, less display reflectivity
11:01AM EDT - Moved from USB 2.0 to USB 3.0 on Surface 2
11:01AM EDT - Screen on Surface 2 is full 1080p clear type display, 3-4 times faster
11:00AM EDT - Added a surface logo to the back, color now shows off the alloy used as well
10:59AM EDT - Doubled bus speed for Wifi, memory, increased CPU speed
10:59AM EDT - "Lighter, Faster, Full HD"
10:58AM EDT - Watching a summary video now for Surface
10:57AM EDT - Vision with Surface was to move beyond consumption and enable creation on a tablet without having to move all the way up
10:56AM EDT - Moving on to Surface 2 now
10:55AM EDT - That wraps up Surface Pro 2 – better display, better speakers, Haswell, and improved accessories
10:54AM EDT - Keyboard is backlit as well, and dims in 9 seconds
10:54AM EDT - Very quiet keyboard, feel but not hear the keypress
10:53AM EDT - Better key switch, full 1 mm removed from travel, Type Cover 2 is now almost as thin as the original touch cover
10:52AM EDT - Type Cover 2 with colors
10:50AM EDT - Optically bonded display with the least amount of reflectivity in the industry
10:49AM EDT - Raw 6K image data, 9x the resolution of Full HD going to Surface Pro 2
10:48AM EDT - Now that RED camera on stage makes sense
10:46AM EDT - USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports, miniDP, ethernet, audio, and power in the docking station
10:46AM EDT - Surface docking station
10:45AM EDT - Surface Pro 2 now has all day battery life with the Power Cover keyboard and battery
10:44AM EDT - 30 Whr battery added to the device
10:44AM EDT - 2.5 times battery life from the original device with Power Cover
10:43AM EDT - More battery life - 75 percent improvement in battery life
10:43AM EDT - Surface Pro 2 operates cooler, quieter
10:42AM EDT - Surface Pro 2 now has Haswell inside
10:42AM EDT - Looks like Surface Pro 2 has two kickstand positions now
10:41AM EDT - Able to use it on the knees at a great angle now, evolution of the kickstand
10:41AM EDT - Surface Pro 2 has a tweaked kickstand, more than just 22 degree tilt now, needs to work better in the lap
10:39AM EDT - Improved performance by 20 percent
10:38AM EDT - Increased graphics performance on Surface Pro 2 by 50 percent
10:38AM EDT - Surface Pro 2 is faster than 95 percent of all laptops in market today, it's a full PC
10:38AM EDT - "People love Surface Pro because it's fast"
10:38AM EDT - Dolby Pro 2, better sound with boost, subtle changes
10:37AM EDT - Color accuracy is much better on Surface Pro 2
10:37AM EDT - ClearType HD display, wanted to make it as productive as possible, true to color true to life images, 46 percent more color accuracy
10:36AM EDT - 'Surface Pro 2 has been the best selling device in its class'
10:35AM EDT - Starting with Surface Pro 2
10:35AM EDT - Next generation of devices, two of them, the most powerful professional use tablet will be introduced today in Surface Pro 2, and the most productive tablet with Surface 2, 7 accessories
10:34AM EDT - Working on second gen products for 18-24 months
10:34AM EDT - Just saw Surface Pro 2 flash briefly on the screen
10:33AM EDT - Here we go, getting started
10:29AM EDT - Unfortunately the event venue is below street level so LTE is shaky at best, no AT&T LTE, barely any Verizon LTE, hoping this holds up, if I go text only, you'll know why
10:26AM EDT - Hopefully this time around Tegra on RT does use the shadow core, that'd be my biggest desire from a hardware standpoint
10:24AM EDT - The event gets underway at 10:30 AM so we've got a bit of time still, which I guess we can pass with some speculation. I'd guess Tegra 4, plus possibly a S800 variant for the RT successor, and it's just a matter of which Haswell ends up inside the Pro successor at this point.
10:20AM EDT - There are some Surfaces on the podium, are any of these a Surface 2? Hard to tell from here
10:18AM EDT - WiFi is holding up, thankfully Microsoft is running some 5 GHz channels, but already down to the lowest MCS rate, Verizon LTE is holding up though, so hopefully photos will come through ok
10:17AM EDT - It's just me today on photos and text, it's going to be a busy week here in NYC
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Stuka87 - Monday, September 23, 2013 - link
What part of "Live Blog" do you not understand?Bob Todd - Monday, September 23, 2013 - link
Thanks for the coverage, looking forward to the hands on. I knew it was too much to wish for, but I was really hoping a for a Bay Trail SKU around $600 with 64GB+, the type cover, and a 2560x1440 display (to be able to use the desktop well in 1280x720, not just for the sake of having a high DPI). I'm sure someone else will build it, but I would have loved to get it with the Surface's build quality.rituraj - Monday, September 23, 2013 - link
Don't keep your hopes up. That century old hd graphics used in bay trail will give you a horrible experience in that resolution.nerd1 - Tuesday, September 24, 2013 - link
In fact the intel reference tablet DOES use 1440p screen and runs Team Fortress 2 quite well.Bob Todd - Tuesday, September 24, 2013 - link
Well I'm talking 2D only, I don't expect to play any games on these. I was worried about the same based on the choppy performance a higher performing HD 4000 GPU provided in the 13" rMBP, but I'm not sure how much of that was software. Anand wasn't complaining about 2D performance (scrolling web pages etc.) during his time with the Intel Bay Trail reference tablet so I'm at least a little hopeful.rituraj - Monday, September 23, 2013 - link
So the actual technical details are left to be guessed.Which cpu model, what screen resolution, how much weight, what the power cover actually has aside from an added battery (I guess nothing), what about the stylus(any improvement? the original was good enough though) etc. Waiting for a review or at least a preview real soon.
Personally I would like it to have a power cover that is big (not afraid of an extra pound), can hold the tablet without the kickstand, with additional ports, extra hard drive or at least the space to fit one. But I think that would make it the perfect product in the world which is incredibly difficult to make for a company the size of the Pacific ocean.
BMNify - Monday, September 23, 2013 - link
surface Pro 2 with the increased battery life is the one i will get, now just have to choose between Type cover and the new power cover.nerd1 - Monday, September 23, 2013 - link
Pro 2 is quite good, although I don't understand why they bother to make 64GB version at all. Also I want it bit larger than 10.6" (especially with super wide screen ratio)I'd like to see how the sony will set the pricing of their 11" Vaio Tab 11 tablet.
OneOfTheseDays - Monday, September 23, 2013 - link
Surface Pro 2. 256GB SSD. 8 GB RAM. Power Cover. Docking Station.This is my next purchase. Replaces every computing device in my house, sans my phone. Amazing how far technology has come in the last few years. If Apple released this product we'd all be marveling at it for weeks on end, but the fact is MSFT has an extremely negative bias amongst press and tech enthusiasts in general. They are the company everyone loves to hate (rightfully so in some cases) but this product is simply too good for people to ignore any longer.
IMHO this is a MBA slayer. There is no reason why I'd ever want to get that laptop with its god awful screen over this. The MBA screen is truly awful and the only reason it's not reamed for it is because it's from Apple.
Impulses - Monday, September 23, 2013 - link
I agree about the MBA displays and the poor value proposition they represent...And I'd totally be exited about the docking station if I was ready to part with my desktop (never!), but I don't think most people really care... Small tablets are selling super well, the market sorta settled unto 13-15" laptops being ideal, any device that sits in between and doesn't replace either as effectively won't interest anyone that isn't super mobile. Maybe future Intel processes make it so that the Surface Pro is as light and thin as a regular ARM tablet and the market swings back, right now the consumer market couldn't care less about productivity tablets...