When the Microsoft Surface RT first came out, it was a very good product with a well-executed design and powerful productivity tools, but it was hard to recommend to all but the most ardent of early adopters. With the launch of the Microsoft Surface 2, it's like hearing the same song with the volume turned up. The new Surface 2 offers even better productivity tools, with improved keyboard accessories, a smoother Windows RT experience, and a wide selection of familiar tools, like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and now Outlook. Throw in an elegant, improved design and dramatically better performance and battery life, and the Surface 2 reigns as the new Editors' Choice for Windows RT tablets.
Design
Microsoft has made several changes to the design first seen on the Microsoft Surface RT, but it has wisely decided not change what works. The tablet still has the slim slab design of the previous Surface products, complete with the lightweight VaporMag magnesium-alloy construction and angular beveled edges. This time around, however, the Surface 2 is a little bit thinner (0.35 inch) and a little bit lighter (1.42 pounds sans keyboard), and the stealthy black color is now a light silvery grey that's nearly white in certain light.
The display has also gotten an upgrade, from 1366-by-768 resolution to the full HD 1920-by-1080. Compared to the likes of the Apple iPad (4th Generation, Wi-Fi), with its high-resolution Retina Display, it pales in comparison. However, stacked against other Windows RT tablets, like the Asus Vivo Tab RT (with a 1366-by-768 display), it's a giant step up. Regardless, the display is much improved, both in resolution and color quality, and looks great whether reading documents in six-point font or watching HD movies on YouTube or Netflix. The capacitive touch display also tracks five points simultaneously, which is enough for one- or two-handed use.
Along the back of the Surface 2 tablet is a built in kickstand, which looks identical to the kickstand on the Surface RT. However, Microsoft's designers and engineers have upgraded this as well, changing the hinge to allow for two positions instead of one. The first position props the kickstand at the same 22-degree position seen on the previous iteration, which is perfect for use on a desk or table by a person of average height. The drawback to this, of course, is that if you were taller than average or wanted to use the tablet balanced on your lap rather than at table height, the angle doesn't quite work. Enter the two position hinge, which now opens further, to a much more comfortable 55 degrees, perfect for actual lap-top use and those of us over six feet tall.
Keyboard Cover
Microsoft has also updated the accompanying keyboard covers, which attach to the tablet along the bottom edge with a magnetic dock. The docking connector is one of the best things about the tablet in that it seems to always work, always connect correctly, and the magnetic connection holds strongly enough that it won't unintentionally slip, but pulls off easily without any sort of latch. While the TouchCover and TypeCover accessories are upgraded along with the tablets, the previously released keyboard covers are still compatible. One thing the keyboard covers don't offer is improved battery life. The Editors' Choice Dell XPS 10, like many hybrid tablets, comes with a docking keyboard that has a secondary battery, nearly doubling the usable life of the tablet when docked. The slim keyboard covers Microsoft offers for the Surface 2 do not.
The TypeCover that came with our review unit has been upgraded with a quieter key mechanism, which makes it a lot less irritating to your coworkers or fellow commuters, and a backlight that adds visibility in dim and dark environments. While we didn't have a new TouchCover keyboard to try during our testing, the soft touch sensitive keyboard is also upgraded with an improved array of sensors for more accurate typing.
Unfortunately, Microsoft hasn't fixed the biggest problem people had with the TypeCover and TouchCover keyboards, namely that they are not included in the price of the device. Instead, they are sold as accessories, with the TouchCover 2 ($119.99 list) and TypeCover 2 ($129.99 list) both purchased separately from the tablet. Given that you'll need a cover for any of the laptop-like capabilities touted on the Surface, this mostly seems like a sneaky way for Microsoft to squeeze an extra hundred bucks out of customers.
Software and Apps
Windows RT is also back, though you won't find the RT name on the Surface this time around. With the RT 8.1 update, many of the same changes seen on Windows 8.1 come to the tablet OS as well. The start button is back when in desktop mode, and the tiles of the start screen can now be resized and repositioned with greater flexibility.
The biggest change unique to the RT OS, however, is the disappearance of the desktop—or at least the navigation to it. While there isn't a lot you would need the desktop for in RT, because most software comes as apps from the Windows store, when it is wanted, there's no way to get there. The desktop tile, which is so integral to both Windows 8 and the original version of RT, is now gone, giving you no direct path from the start screen to the desktop.
The other major change is the included software. Office RT 2013 has been expanded to now include an RT-friendly version of Outlook in addition to the RT variants of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote already included with the original Surface RT.
Other extras include 200GB of cloud storage via Microsoft SkyDrive, which both bolsters the 32GB of onboard storage and makes sharing and syncing files between the Surface 2 and other PCs easier. If you want to really integrate the Surface 2 into your circle of personal computing devices, SkyDrive is essential. Microsoft's offer only lasts for two years, however, after which you'll need to pay for the same amount of storage.
Microsoft also bundles in the Best of Skype package, which adds 1 -months of free international calling and free Wi-Fi through Skype Hotspots along with the normal Skype app. Whether or not this is a big draw has a lot to do with how frequently you use Skype to call landline phones or other countries (which many people do) and if you had any idea that Skype Hotspots are a thing, or whether there's one convenient to you.
Finally, there's the question of apps and software. While there are over 100,000 apps available that run on Windows RT—a vast improvement over the paltry 3,000 on offer when the Surface RT first launched—the selection still feels sparse and slightly out of date. There are plenty of unique offerings, with games like Halo: Spartan Assault, and the ubiquitous Angry Birds (in several different incarnations), and media apps like Netflix, HuluPlus, and the New York Times.
Compared to the 475,000 apps that Apple has for the iPad, and the fact that a great many of those apps appeared on iOS and Android devices long before coming to the Windows Store, even this sort of growth feels insufficient, and it's frustrating to go hunting for a hugely popular app, like Instagram or Seamless, only to find that there's no RT-friendly version.
Features
On the right-hand edge of the tablet is a single USB 3.0 port, along with a micro HDMI output and a microSD card slot. On the left, you'll find a headset jack and physical volume controls. All other connections are wireless, with dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0. The Surface 2 also includes the usual tablet sensors: Accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, and ambient light detection through the onboard cameras.
The Surface 2 features a front facing 3.5 megapixel webcam. While I rarely devote much of my reviews to webcam quality, the front-facing camera is just about ideal for Skype, being selected and optimized by Microsoft just for that purpose, and it performed quite well, with clear images, and 720p video capture.
The rear-facing camera increases the resolution to 5 megapixels, and is set at a slight angle so as to offset the tilt of the tablet when using the kickstand. While this is great for shooting video when the tablet is stationary, you will need to hold the Surface 2 at an angle when using it handheld. And though this angle works great for the first kickstand position, it doesn't correct for the angle of the second 55-degree position on the kickstand. It's just another feature that manages to be both thoughtfully designed and frustrating at the same time.
The Surface 2 is available with either 32GB of internal storage ($449 list), as seen in our review unit, or 64GB ($549 list). Microsoft covers the Surface 2 with a one-year limited warranty.
Performance
The Surface 2 upgraded the tablet's hardware, featuring an Nvidia Tegra 4 quad-core processor, a 1.7GHz ARM mobile CPU paired with 2GB of RAM. It's a step up from the Nvidia Tegra 3 processor found in the Surface RT, and when we tested performance in BrowserMark 2.0, the Surface 2 left the previous Surface RT in the dust, offering a much faster browsing experience. Because of this processor, and the fact that Windows RT doesn't support traditional Windows software—including our normal batch of tests—we weren't able to run our usual Windows benchmark tests. Despite this, we were able to test web browsing performance and battery life, arguably the two most important aspects of the tablet.
While it has the same size 31.5Wh battery as the Surface RT, the Surface 2 stretches the available charge for several hours more, lasting 14 hours 51 minutes in our battery rundown test. By comparison, the leading Dell XPS 10 lasted 11:34, well ahead of the Asus Vivo Tab RT (9:37) and the Apple iPad (5:36). The previous Surface RT lasted only 7:45. However, both the Dell XPS 10 and the Asus Vivo Tab RT also offered a docking keyboard with a secondary battery, extending the life of the tablet to 20:36 and 15:00, respectively. Though the Surface 2—thanks to more efficient hardware—offers nearly as long battery life on its own, the addition of a secondary battery would extend it even further.
Conclusion
The Microsoft Surface 2's performance, the software, and the pricing are all of a caliber that—were this the public's first taste of Windows RT—it could do far better than the disappointing Surface RT did. Thanks to the Nvidia Tegra 4 processor, the 14+ hours of battery life, and the value offer of the lower price and expanded productivity, the Microsoft Surface 2 is the clear leader among Windows RT tablets, and thus our new Editors' Choice for that category. If you want Office and Skype on an affordable tablet—and don't require the full Windows experience—the Surface 2 is the best there is.
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