Microsoft was showing Surface 2 discreetly behind closed doors (even folks at the MS booth didn’t know about it, lol) and this second edition has been built in partnership with Samsung (we’re talking about the hardware only). So what’s new? Well, the new surface is less bulky and it looks arguably a lot better than the first iteration. Samsung did a good job with the display. The screen resolution is 1080p (1920×1080), which is pretty much the best that you can get for a display this size (40″).
Surface 2 now runs under Windows 7, which should make things a whole lot easier/convenient for developers, so with a bit of luck, apps shouldn’t be a problem whenever Surface 2 becomes a consumer product that’s somewhat affordable (it’s $7600 right now). My first request would be to have a TV guide/remote for my Media Center.
It’s also great if there are more than one person using it: this Samsung LCD display supports up to 50 multi-touch points. that’s a whole lot of busy fingers on a table. In short, Surface 2 has gotten a whole lot cheaper (it used to cost tens of thousands), thinner, sexier, and more developer friendly. [photos and movie courtesy of Giiks.com]