Microsoft Surface 2 Pro Reviews

Oh boy is this one a tough call, harder knowing that the hardware and software are nearly identical with these two. From the surface, we really need to look at the pricing between them, as they’re separated by a mere $50. Undercutting its competition, the Surface 2 is priced reasonably at $450, which is especially attractive considering that it’s sporting a kickstand and handy full-sized USB 3.0 port to extend its worth. Conversely though, the $500 cost attached to the Lumia 2520 is justified in the way that it’s sporting one attractive design, produces better results with its camera, and that it’s preloaded with various Nokia-branded apps that deepens the experience out of the box. At the end of the day, it’s merely a matter of personal preference. For the savings, the Surface 2 is the obvious choice, but if you prefer something that’s fresh on the scene combined with on-the-go 4G LTE connectivity, then the Lumia 2520 will be the right decision for you.

There's nothing wrong with the Surface 2, and there's a lot that is very right about it. But it's not a full Windows device, despite appearances. Given that, it's a well put together and stylish Windows consumption device, a tablet with some unique and cool features, and a powerful performer.

Vastly better hardware, but Windows RT 8.1 still feels too restrictive

There’s good news and bad news with the Surface 2. The good news: Microsoft made almost everything about the device better. Gorgeous screen, fast performance, usable kickstand, useful new software. It’s a better Surface than last year’s Surface, by a long shot. The bad news: a good Surface still isn’t a great device. Not right now, anyway. It’s not a great tablet — it’s too big, too tall in portrait mode, and missing way too many crucial apps. It’s not a great laptop, either, not unless you’re willing to tote around a mouse and keyboard. I still hope that Microsoft is right, that it will eventually figure out how to combine tablet and laptop in a way that doesn’t just come with new, frustrating compromises. (Combining the power of the Surface Pro with the design of the Surface 2 would be a good start.) I want the device the Surface 2 promises to be. I hope someday Microsoft builds it — and there’s a lot here to work with. But there are still two devices in my backpack: my laptop and my tablet. Neither one is a Surface 2.

Compared separately against the iPad and Android tablets, and well as other Windows 8.1 machines, the Microsoft Surface 2 has plenty of strengths, and one glaring weakness. It's probably the best piece of mainstream hardware, tablet or otherwise, available at the time of this review. This is the type of device you want to use simply because it's so well put together, and that includes the Type and Touch Cover accessories. Having a full-sized USB input, with nearly full peripheral support, is also a revelation, and serves as a constant reminder of the compromises iPad and some Android tablet users have to make. Finally, the Surface 2 battery life, performance, and display are all top-notch. Even Windows RT 8.1 is a well-designed operating environment. While the Desktop makes things a bit more cumbersome and confusing than they should be, it's a small price to pay for robust versions of Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. While having Word, PowerPoint and Excel probably benefit most, Outlook really shines, especially compared to the iOS, Android, and even Windows 8 Start Screen mail clients. But even with all that, it's impossible to look past the Surface 2's limitations, which are predominately related to the lack of Windows 8 Start Screen apps. Yes, there are workarounds for HBO Go, and TPCR was even able to get Slingbox working in IE with a simple hack despite the fact that the Surface 2 browser doesn't support the Slingbox plugin. But users of a premium device shouldn't have to resort to hacks and workarounds. And there is no workaround for the lack of Chromecast support at the time of review, and Chrome or Firefox browser users looking to sync histories and bookmarks are completely out of luck, as the Surface 2 only runs IE.

Microsoft offers a premium tablet with the Surface 2. The engineers from Redmond improved their product and optimized many weaknesses, while maintaining the positive aspects. The Surface 2 is finally equipped with a Full HD panel, but there is still a problem with the display. The black value could be better, and the screen bleeding does not really meet the premium claim. One advantage of the tablet is the convenient temperature development. The user also gets a full copy of the Office suite, which finally includes an Outlook client and the Skype flat rate for landlines as well as the 200 GB SkyDrive storage (limited to two years) are nice additions. But the Surface 2 can also convince us with its excellent build quality and the comparatively high weight is not really a problem in practice. The optional Covers are useful accessories, we especially liked the Type Cover 2. Both versions are now equipped with a background illumination. The Surface 2 is really a versatile product with excellent communication and multimedia features. The App selection is unfortunately still limited, but the Windows Store is continually growing. Overall it is not quite enough to beat Apple's iPad, but the competition is finally on the same level.

It’s still early in the holiday season, but you know that the competition is going to be fierce between these two prized tablets. In its attempt to try and gain ground on Apple’s stranglehold, Microsoft strategically prices the Surface 2 at the base price of $450; $50 less than the iPad Air’s starting price of $500. Of course, it’s a great tactic that should help to shine some light on it – especially when the Surface 2 is more PC-like than your average tablet. Meanwhile, the iPad Air is gearing up to take the holiday season by storm, despite the competition it sees from the lower priced Surface 2. Should it be scared at all? Well, not really.Donning a new design, one that’s remarkably thin and lightweight, it’s sure to catch some eye brows from prying shoppers who are eager to pick up a tablet. And as we’ve seen, it continues to prove itself as a venerable competitor – mainly due to its excellent performance and diverse apps ecosystem. Seriously though, we can go either way with this comparison. Depending on your needs, either tablet can suffice in a number of ways – albeit, the savings is found with the Surface 2. If you’re in the mood to experiment, or want something that can almost double as a laptop, the Surface 2 is a fantastic choice. If not, the obvious decision is to go with the safe route of picking up the iPad Air. Whatever decision you make, there’s no arguing that they’re equipped in dealing with a handful of needs.

Is the Surface 2 better than the original Surface RT? Certainly: the screen is a huge improvement, the processor faster, and Windows RT 8.1 has lost a lot of its rough edges. The third-party software issue remains, albeit abated somewhat, and we still admire the crisp design and excellent build quality.The challenge the Surface 2 faces has evolved in the meantime, though. Party lines for iOS or Windows are pretty much decided – most people, if they’re considering Surface, know if they want one or the other – and in fact the main competition to the updated slate comes from within the Windows ecosystem. In abandoning Windows RT, Microsoft’s OEM partners have instead focused their efforts on lowering the prices of full Windows 8.1 tablets, to the point where it’s now more affordable to get the complete version of the OS running on Intel’s excellent Bay Trail platform (for ARM-style levels of runtime). That’s overall a net win for Microsoft, arguably, but it leaves Surface 2 in a difficult position. What it does, it does well, but for the most part the other options out there are either cheaper or better.

Powerful, long-lasting and desirable – Microsoft’s homegrown tablets get the formula right at the second attempt

Let’s cut to the chase here folks! The Microsoft Surface 2 starts out at $450 for the base 32GB Wi-Fi version, which no doubt is pretty darn competitive . At that price point, we find it to be a more valuable offering compared to last year’s model, even more knowing it’s packing significant hardware upgrades over its predecessor. Nonetheless, that nagging feeling in the back of our mind continues to pulsate the more we try to elevate the Surface 2’s better offering. For starters, we truly wonder why there’s even a need to have to have Windows RT 8.1 tablets in general, seeing that throughout the last year alone, we’ve seen a handful of Intel Atom based Windows 8 tablets that prove the point that they’re far more versatile than this. Like seriously, there are even some Windows 8 tablets that are cheaper – and actually running the full Windows experience! At the end of the day, it’s really a tough sell for the Surface 2. Sure, you can spend double the money to pick up the Surface Pro 2, but at the same time, you can dish out less and snag a deal for the original Surface! Frankly speaking, we’d hold out and wait to see what the Windows RT competition will have to offer, seeing that we’re just at the tip of the iceberg right now. Of course, you can always go for the latest iPad, which has a much richer application ecosystem, though it is slightly more expensive. When it comes to Android – you won't be getting that many tablet-optimized programs there, but you'll still have one pretty extensive catalog to choose from, and those Android tablets come in all shapes and sizes, so it's definitely worth it to check them out before making the purchase.

The Microsoft Surface 2 brings the Windows RT tablet back with better hardware, a refined design, and expanded productivity tools.

Surface 2 might be thinner, lighter and faster than before - but only just on all counts. And as much as those three words might read well on page, the latest Microsoft offering is, above all, a confusing prospect. Why? Because it's not full Windows 8.1. It's the "lite" app-based version known as RT. Or it used to be called that - only now the RT moniker has gone from the device's name. And when working in RT you'll likely find yourself bouncing between the tile and desktop interfaces while wondering why the latter even exists. It's not a tablet experience, it's a confused experience that lacks the elegance of Android or iOS. With the original Surface RT we felt affection as to what it could develop into. But it was a bit of a punt then, almost a year back, and one that's failed to develop at the rapid pace it needed to. With the second generation upon us we feel that it's landed short in this department. Surface 2 needed to be bolder; a product drilled-down to its core tile experience like a Windows Phone 8 device - in order to leave the desktop operation stuff for the Surface Pro 2 instead - but instead we're left with a "what is it?" feeling. But use it plenty, add a keyboard and it's actually a pretty good experience. Not so much a "fun" experience, but we suspect there's a case for more business-aligned users to shower praise the Surface 2. Microsoft has pushed the hardware forward: the Full HD screen is amazing to look at, the build quality decent, the software - despite outlined potential confusions - steps ahead of where it once was. It all adds up to a very reasonable device and the price point is fairer than before too. We just wish it didn't sit on the fence so much.

I really like everything about Surface 2 as a physical device. The chassis, the weight, the kickstand, the feel, everything. The software/services side of the story needs work, and until it gets there that puts a good amount of pricing pressure on Microsoft – at least if it wants broad adoption. There is an alternative solution to this entire problem however. I can’t help but feel like if Microsoft threw Intel’s Bay Trail in the Surface 2 chassis that a number of users might come to a completely different conclusion about the device. When we first posted about ASUS’ T100, common feedback was that users would be willing to pay more for an even better device. A Bay Trail Surface 2 could’ve been that device.

The Surface 2 is a lot like Nvidia's Shield: an undeniably high-quality product that's still waiting for lots of high-quality software to go along with it. If you're a fan of the Windows 8 ecosystem, the hardware improvements here serve it well. However, Amazon, Google, and Apple still do tablets better.