Microsoft Surface Book 2 lands in Malaysia
Microsoft expanded their family of Surface devices in Malaysia today and has added the beefily specced Surface Book 2 alongside the existing Surface Pro and the Surface laptop that hit the market a few months ago.
The Surface Book 2 is up for preorders at authorised retailers and will be available for purchase from 15 March while the Surface Laptop is currently available for sale nationwide. The list of authorised retailers for Malaysia include the online Lazada Brand store, Harvey Norman, All IT hypermarket, PC Image SDn Bhd, Senheng and SenQ, SNS Network and Thunder Match.
Surface Book 2
The Surface Book 2 is their most powerful convertible yet with the latest Intel 8th generation processors and dedicated NVIDIA GeForce GPUs crammed into a slate which can attach to a keyboard to turn it into a well appointed laptop capable of rendering video and even a modicum of gaming too.
The fulcrum hinge of the Surface Book 2 is exceptionally sturdy, allowing it to be used in the usual laptop mode, an unusual view mode for presentations by flipping the tablet portion around on the keyboard, a studio mode that slants the notebook slightly when placed on a flat surface for drafting work and as a tablet by detaching the keyboard though you lose access to the NVIDIA GPU integrated into the keyboard.
In terms of hardware, the Surface Book 2 comes in a number of different configurations with your choices of either a 13.5-inch, 3,000 x 2,000 pixel resolution or a 15-inch display with 3,240 x 2,160 pixel resolution, either an 8th generation Intel Core i5 or i7 processor, either a 256GB/512GB/1TB SSD, up to 16GB RAM and up to an NVIDIA GeForce GTX1060 GPU.
The entry level Surface Book 2 sports a 13.-5-inch touchscreen, an Intel Core i5 processor, a 256GB SSD, 8GB RAM and Intel HD Graphics 620 for RM6,899. On the other end of the scale, assuming you have deep pockets, you can spring out for the top-end model that clocks in at RM14,199 and which snags you a 15-inch display, an Intel Core i7 CPU, a 1TB SSD, 16GB RAM and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX1060 GPU.
Surface Laptop
The slimmer Surface Laptop aims to offer exceptional endurance and portability as it is just 14.5mm thin while weighing in at 1.25kg on top of offering 14.5 hours of battery life in the field. Of note is that the keyboard is swathed in a rather novel Alcantara fabric finish that looks and feels like plush velvet to the touch.
On the hardware side, the Surface Laptop sticks to Intel HD Graphics to ensure extended endurance in the field. The Surface Laptops all come a 13.5-inch, 2,560 x 1504 touchscreen, the aforementioned Intel HD graphics and a combination of 8th generation Intel Core i5 or i7 processors depending on what configuration you chunk out for. The entry level version comes with an Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB RAM, a 128GB SSD and Intel HD graphics 620 for RM4,499. The highest end version that is available in Harvey Norman comes with an Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB RAM and a 1TB SSD for RM12,399.
Microsoft also showcased a host of Surface accessories to go with the new Surface notebooks. Their Surface Pen stylus which comes in black, platinum, burgundy and cobalt blue ships for RM299. An ethernet adaptor retails for RM179 while a HDMI and VGA adapter also retail for the same price.A USB-C to HDMI or USB-C to VGA adaptor retails for RM158.
