Hands on with Microsoft’s Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2: In search of a tablet turnaround

When I reviewed Microsoft’s first tablet last year, I said it showed a great deal of promise but that Windows RT had some serious wrinkles that needed ironing, not the least of which was a severe app problem. Beyond that, the $630 price tag with a keyboard attachment was a huge barrier. I also said it was my favorite tablet on the planet in terms of hardware design, though, and that it made me really, really want the Surface Pro. Then in January I finally got my hands on the Surface Pro I had been waiting for — and it was worth the wait. This gorgeous machine featured almost everything I loved about the Surface tablet, but it also ran full-blown Windows 8 Pro and therefore supported tens of thousands of Windows apps from day one. But the sleek slate was priced higher than people expected and the battery life was disappointing to many. In the end, Microsoft’s debut tablet family went nowhere fast. But if at first you don’t succeed…