It's only been 2 months, and we have a new Microsoft Surface Pro 2

The new one is called the Surface Pro 2+. Source: winbeta

I kid you. Microsoft did not announce a new Surface Pro 2. They just "merely" upgraded the processor and did not bother to tell anyone.

Updates and upgrades are usually good. Usually. But not when a company screws over their company's most loyal supporters, a.k.a. early adopters. Early adopters jump to buy the latest piece of tech that they like. And due to Apple's influence, most are expecting that their device will last/be viable for at least a year before it is overshadowed by an updated device/specs. Even the almighty Apple did something like this before.

An example of companies that pulls shenanigans like that is HTC. Consumers are literally bombarded by multiple flagship phones a year, running the same Android OS, but has incremental upgrades. It is hard to not feel bummed out when your shiny new flagship phone (that you have yet be able to find a nice cover for it because it is too new) is forgotten due to another flagship from the same company. BGR has an excellent article on this.

Then they rub salt into your wounds. They parade new features of the new device in front of your face. No one likes it. Consumers are already hard pressed making decisions while making a choice for a device. It is something that they need to commit to. Some even spend days or weeks or even months, researching products and finally decided on one. They buy it, and BAM - a newer, better version appears in the market 8 weeks later.

Released within 6 months - HTC Sensation, HTC Sensation XE and, HTC Sensation XL. This is still not counting the numerous other devices like the HTC EVO 3D and HTC EVO 4G. Source: Pocketlint

Microsoft is the latest one to pull such a trick. Albeit, it is not taunting or even announcing it. And the upgraded Surface 2 is not named Surface 2+. That is good, but it is still unacceptable.

I do not mean that a company has no right to upgrade the components in their devices as they see fit. But with a weak explanation like this: "Microsoft routinely makes small changes to internal components over the lifetime of a product, based on numerous factors including supply chain partnerships, availability, and value for our customers. With any change to hardware or software, we work to ensure that the product experience remains excellent." - it is definitely not acceptable. Was the initial processor too slow? Or was the upgrade made because Microsoft wants to market it as a secure device now? These are some of the questions that will be asked by the early adopters.

The processor upgrade does not just come with a processor clockspeed boost, it also bumps the integrated GPU from 1 GHz max boost to 1.1 GHz. The new processor also comes with Intel's Trusted Execution technology for software security. A simple comparison done on Intel's website shows that Intel's vPro Technology, Intel's TSX-NI and Intel's Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O also come with the upgrade. And they both cost $281 per tray listed as well (and were launched at the same time).

I feel sad for early Microsoft Surface 2 adopters. I, myself, got burned some time ago when I bought the HTC One X and was caught off guard when the HTC One X+ launched with a better front facing camera, bigger battery and higher clocked processor. I think it is a shame that companies practise this.