I have to say that as a first generation Surface owner, I'm pretty excited about the Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2. It seems to me that Microsoft really took the lessons that they learned the hard way from Surface RT and Surface Pro 1 to heart. I'm confident in recommending specifically the Surface 2 to the following people for the following reasons:
Who should get the Surface 2?
- Anyone looking for a productivity tablet (you really can't underestimate the power that comes with having the core Office suite pre-loaded and fully functional)
- Those willing to shift over to (or are already in) the Microsoft ecosystem (i.e. Outlook, SkyDrive, etc)
- Anyone who doesn't have a problem purchasing device insurance (see my post about that here)
- Those planning on also getting the keyboard
- Anyone looking for a touchscreen laptop replacement that doesn't mind the fact that they'll only be able to download Start Screen apps, not traditional Desktop programs (i.e. NO Chrome or Firefox)
Any additional reasons?
- Solid hardware and computing power (looks to be benchmarking near the 64 bit iPad Air)
- Ability to sync with Dropbox and other cloud based storage services (not as smooth as SkyDrive, but much better than when the Surface first came out)
- The things that made the original Surface great: USB port (3.0 on the Surface 2!), video out, micro SD expansion, kickstand
- Great battery life (charge it once at night and you're basically good to go for a whole day of productivity...no more hunting for outlets!)
- A tablet with a full fledged internet browser (no hulu+ or netflix app required)
- I like being able to access the traditional Windows desktop control panel...it's familiar and powerful
Who absolutely should avoid the Surface 2 like the plague?
- Anybody who needs a good camera on their tablet (I'm not sure if the Surface 2 is any better, but I felt like I was taking pictures with my old flip phone on the Surface RT)
Would I buy the Surface RT today (now simply called "Surface") if I didn't already have it?
- I'd opt for the Surface 2: the increased power is noticeable. I'm remembering what a tech savvy friend once told me: never buy first generation hardware. He was right. The Surface RT is still serving me well, but I think Windows 8.1 RT is built to fit Surface 2 like a glove.
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