Microsoft Surface 2 Supposedly to Be Revealed Today

Well, the time has finally come for Microsoft (MSFT) to detail its successor to the under-rated Surface line of tablets.  

The Surface RT and the Surface Pro may not exactly have set the world on fire, but they were decent first offerings from MSFT into the tablet market. Will they release the rumored mini (8")?  Will their asking price not be as misaligned as last time? Will there be Windows 8 minis (not just Surface)?

I really like my Surface RT (bought at launch), except for a few things that need to be dealt with in the successor:
* The price: $499.99 at launch was too much, the current price of $349.99 ($399.99 as the most) is the price the tablet should have launched with.  I expect a $399.99 price point for the new models.  If they could price a Surface Mini at $299.99 (32GB), I would be really tempted.    

* The form factor:  for a consumption device, 10.1 inches is a bit unwieldy.  A 7-8" tablet seems about the right size.  I viewed the Surface RT as too big for a consumption device and too small for a PC replacement (though I did use it as such a few times).  Office was a little overkill on Windows RT.  Maybe they could save a few dollars (and MB) by removing it on smaller devices.

* The CPU: the Tegra 3 was decent for some consumption devices like the Kindle Fire, but when you are trying to do more with your OS it has limitations.  I think RT can benefit from a better processor (hopefully with better battery life too).  I like Windows RT as an OS (I prefer it for tablets due to issues I've had with Windows and Malware in the past). 

* OS footprint: One thing that would be nice is if they could reduce the size of the OS/increase available memory.  As it stands, the 32GB gets eaten up pretty quickly.  I think i'm at about 3 GB left.  Maybe a way to free up a few GBs is to change the backup partition to a cloud based solution.   

* Drivers: ok this is a problem if you want to do things like print (not a problem I have), but some things are known to not work well with Windows RT.

I fully believe that Windows RT can be a decent OS given enough power.  The lower end Windows 8 tablets are getting closer in performance/battery life to what the Windows RT offers, if they can hit the right price points, I don't know about RT.  The rumored Qualcomm. 


The Pro Tablets seem cool in theory, and there is kind of an enterprise slant to them.  However they are not the kind of thing that would really appeal to me (unless I had a ton of extra money).  The addition of the stylus on the pros is interesting.

So what would it take to get me to purchase a Surface 2 (well probably mini)?
* Maximum $299.99 price on 8" Surface RT model (maybe Xbox branded, Qualcomm processor). 
* Trade-in for my current Surface RT of at least $150 at MSFT store.