The world welcomes... the “leaner, meaner” Surface 2

Billed as the most productive tablet for personal use, Microsoft's new Surface 2 fuses work with pleasure - as explained in front of a packed media assembly in Auckland last night.

Outlined by Microsoft New Zealand's chief of Marketing Fraser Scott, "Surface 2 allows for productivity in the workplace and entertainment in the home" - showing Redmond's growth as a hardware company.

Revealed during the world's first launch of the product, the new Surface 2 is powered by an NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor, making apps run faster and smoother, while increasing battery life to up to 10 hours for video playback.

The 10.6-inch ClearType Full HD display now renders 1080p video for enjoying shows and movies, and its full-size USB port has been upgraded to USB 3.0 for up to four times faster file transfers.

Camera resolution has also increased, with a 3.5-megapixel front camera and 5-megapixel rear camera, both capable of capturing 1080p video and featuring improved low-light performance, making face-to-face conversations with your favorite people crisp and clear.

But despite the upgrade in class, the Surface 2 is slightly thinner and lighter than its predecessor.

Surface 2 will ship with Windows RT 8.1, bringing improvements in key areas such as personalisation, search, multitasking, built-in apps, the Windows Store experience and cloud connectivity.

Crossing the bridge from work to pleasure, the new Xbox Music allows users to stream millions of songs for free, and an updated Video app and games from the Windows Store such as "Halo: Spartan Assault" ensures users will now never run out of ways to play.

When it's time to get serious however, Surface 2 is pre-loaded with Office Home & Student 2013 RT and Outlook 2013 RT; simply click in a Touch or Type Cover and get to work.

Surface 2 is available in 32GB and 64GB configurations; for a RRP of NZ$649 and $799 respectively.

Check out a preview of the Surface Pro below:

For more information click here