It was only yesterday that Neowin was able to pull back the covers on the Surface Pro 2 and highlight some of the features of Microsoft’s upcoming tablet. While the specs are looking like a modest upgrade to the Surface Pro, Microsoft is about to introduce a new cover for the tablet that will include a built-in battery.
Microsoft is working on a new cover that will attach to the Surface and extend the battery life of the device. The optional add-on, known as the "Power Cover," will include an external battery that will help increase the longevity of the device. The combination of a Power Cover and the upcoming Surface Pro 2 should for an all-day computing device, given the tablet"s Haswell chip that will already extend battery life.
Seeing as the cover will have a battery in it, we will be curious to see if it is more rigid than the Type Cover. Currently, even the Type Cover is a bit flexible for our taste when using the Surface Pro. While it works well on hard surfaces, using the Type Cover on your lap results in just enough flexing that leaves room for improvement.
While we don’t have a release date for the Power Cover, we have heard whispers that it may not launch with the Surface Pro 2 and could come at a later, unspecified date. No pricing details were revealed to Neowin.
The Power Cover might be backwards compatible, meaning it may work with the current Surface Pro, but we are hearing that it will definitely not work with existing Surface RT devices.
The dock on the current Surface Pro/RT is highly underused, and we hope that Microsoft will some day license out the port to expand the Surface accessory options. It is good to see that Microsoft is working to expand upon the current ports functionality, as we feel it is a unique offering Microsoft should extrapolate upon with peripherals.
As for now, the Power Cover is looking to be a solid companion to the Surface lineup and we will be quite curious to see how much additional life it will add to the tablet.
Additionally, Paul Thurrott has confirmed everything we said above and posted a few more tidbits worth checking out too.