Today, Microsoft announced further details of the Microsoft Surface with Windows 8 Pro. The Surface with Windows RT has been out for a month now and seems to be getting pretty good reviews for its hardware construction. The details in today’s announcement include the pricing, capacity options, and some hardware differences between the Surface RT and the Surface with Windows 8 Pro.
The Surface with Windows 8 Pro will come in 2 versions:
- 64GB standalone Surface at $899
- 128GB standalone Surface at $999
They will both include a Surface pen (a stylus) and can be paired with the Touch Cover or Type Cover keyboards, sold separately.
The Surface with Windows 8 Pro will differ from the Windows RT by having a Intel Core i5 processor instead of an ARM processor. This will improve the graphics rendering for the 1920×1080 resolution display. The Surface will also sport a full-size USB 3.0 port and a mini DisplayPort that can support a 2560×1440 external display. The battery life of the new configuration is not listed anywhere that I see. You can find all other details from Microsoft’s Surface website.
The Surface with Windows 8 Pro does not include Office 2013 like the Surface RT, however, it is able to support standard desktop applications. The Surface with Windows 8 Pro is the one I would recommend to people due to its ability to run desktop applications, at least until the Windows Store gets a significant number of apps under its belt.
