News & Reviews:   Microsoft Surface Pro 2 Malaysia

It appears that some users of the recent Microsoft Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 tablets have been having problems with their tablets related to overheating. The main symptom of this is that the screen for the tablets becomes so dimmed that users can't see what they are doing. This often comes up when either the Surface 2 or Surface Pro tablets were doing processor intensive tasks like games or multi-tasking (multiple programs running at the same time). When contacted, Microsoft have said that the company is aware about the problem and are currently working on an update to fix the problem. According to them, a quick fix is to let the overheated tablets cool down first, which should take about a minute or two. The screen should then return to normal brightness afterwards. Here were their exact words:

"Surface devices may dim the screen as thermal temperatures rise from extended, high CPU intensive activities - like gaming. In some scenarios this does not appear necessary...We’re working on a tuning update that will remove this unnecessary dimming event. You can expect this update in an upcoming Windows Update package. In the meantime allow the Surface to cool down for a minute or so in order to return the screen to previous brightness levels."

Diversifying what you can do with your Microsoft Surface 2 or Surface Pro 2 tablet is Microsoft's new touch covers, one of which is the new Surface Remix Project which has resulted in the Surface Music Kit cover. Compatible with the Microsoft Surface 2, Surface Pro 2 and Surface Pro tablets, the customized touch cover features a set of sliders and buttons similar to those on a DJ's mixing table. When attached to the aforementioned tablets, the accompanying mixing app installs automatically, allowing you to mix a song complete with vocals, drums, bass and keyboards as well as other templates. The custom cover is pressure sensitive so you can have a more intuitive experience controlling beats, instruments and vocals. The app syncs beats per minute automatically and also provides mixing recommendations while also exporting resulting mixes into MP3, WAV or WMA formats. DJ and Linkin Park member Joe Hahn has also been invited to act as the Surface Remix project product ambassador while the #RemixProject competition has a free Surface 2 + Surface Music Kit combo for creative Vine video submissions on remixing your life. Microsoft eventually hopes to see other Touch Cover possibilities come from this with many interesting creations already in development which you can see from the videos in this article.

We've been hearing rumours about the Intel Haswell refresh of Microsoft's Surface tablet range for months, so it comes as no surprise when Microsoft officially announced the new Surface Pro 2 tablet. While the new version packs in a better 4th generation Intel Core i5 processor it also adds in tech specs and features which include 64GB, 128GB, 256GB and 512GB storage options, 4GB to 8GB of RAM and a 10.6-inch full HD ClearType HD display. The new Intel Haswell chips increase battery life by up to 75% and the Surface Pro 2 adds on new cover options such as the Power Cover which includes a 30wh battery to help extend battery life even further.

Microsoft continues slogging on with their Surface range of tablets as reports show that Microsoft are currently working on 3 new Surface tablets. Surface Pro 2 will be the Intel Haswell refresh of the current Surface Pro while the Surface 2 will be the revamp (hopefully replacement) for the Surface RT tablet. The third Surface tablet looks to be something in the 7-inch to 8-inch range as it will be named the Surface Mini. Perhaps Microsoft is getting impatient for other manufacturers to come out with their 8-inch Windows 8.1 tablets and is working on a reference design. However, if the Surface Mini gets priced much higher than the others but has the same tech specs this won't serve Microsoft very well.