MICROSOFT SURFACE 2

The Surface 2 is Microsoft's assertion that it believes a hybrid mobile device running Windows RT can find a lasting place in the consumer electronics landscape. The body is more or less the same as the first Surface, but thinner, lighter and with Full HD resolution instead of just HD.

Putting aside its rather bulky weight, however, the Surface 2 has many original and positive features in both design and build. For starters, the 10.6-inch (27 cm) 1920x1080 ClearType HD display looks beautiful when in landscape mode. Though its pixel per inch (PPI) only measures 208, the text and images on the screen are stunning. Another nice (and responsive!) feature is the capacitive touch Home button that quickly toggles between the Home/Start screen and the last-used app.

Enter Surface 2 and Microsoft has done something bizarre: ditched the RT name. The tablet runs ARM-based Windows RT 8.1, not full Windows 8.1 like the more powerful Surface Pro 2. Therefore, and just like its RT predecessor, the Surface 2 has limitations to what can be installed using its operating system.

Externally, the Surf2 looks the same, but the internals are quite different. Surf2 sports a 1.7GHz Tegra 4, which is a good clip faster than the 1.3GHz Tegra 3 in its predecessor. The original wasn’t a horrible performer but it did get a bit laggy on occasion. Surface 2 is noticeably faster in feel and in the tests.

Overall I liked the Surface 2, the addition of 4G and the updated hardware and software made my time with the Surface a whole load more pleasurable than when I had the original Surface RT. The one thing that holds me back from using Windows RT personally is that you know if it ran normal Windows 8.1 that it would be so much more powerful. But it doesn’t and it isn’t.