In New York City today, Microsoft announced a pair of new tablets in its Surface range.

Microsoft is sticking to the same basic form factors and concepts that it first demonstrated last summer. Both tablets are iterations of the design we've already seen with the first-generation Surface products. They both retain the trademark kickstand, angular design, and metallic finish. The kickstand has been updated, however, and now supports two positions.

As before, there are two variants: a lower-priced ARM machine running Windows RT 8.1 and a higher-priced x86 machine running full Windows Pro 8.1. The ARM version has lost its RT moniker, now being named simply "Surface 2."

The new tablet replaces the first generation's Nvidia Tegra 3 processor with a Tegra 4 and upgrades the 1366×768 screen to 1920×1080 with better color accuracy. These two changes should address some of the biggest complaints about the first-generation hardware—its weak performance and low screen resolution. The Surface 2 is also thinner and lighter than the Surface RT, with 25% more battery life and a USB 3 port.

Distinguishing the ARM tablet from its more powerful sibling, it will only be available in a "bare metal color." The front surface will still retain its black bezel, but the rest of the case is white/silver.

Surface Pro 2 improves the internals, picking up a Haswell processor, which replaces the Ivy Bridge in the older unit. Microsoft is touting a 75% improvement in battery life. The Surface Pro 2 comes with 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB of storage. The smaller two options come with 4GB of RAM, while the larger two options have 8GB. Beyond that, it looks essentially identical to its predecessor.

Microsoft also announced some new accessories to go with the new tablets. Joining the existing Touch Cover 2 and Type Cover 2 are the Power Cover—a cover containing a battery to help extend the runtime. Microsoft says this will add 2.5× the battery life of the original product. There is also a docking station that adds three USB 2 ports, one USB 3 port, another mini-DisplayPort output, and a gigabit Ethernet port.

The original Type Cover has been replaced by the Type Cover 2. The new version is backlit and comes in pink, blue, purple, and black—it looks like red is gone. The Touch Cover 2 has been improved with significantly higher sensitivity, which Microsoft says should lead to fewer dropped keys. It also supports gestures.

Another cover that's totally out of left field is the "Surface Music Kit," a Touch Cover with a mixing deck instead of a keyboard. All the new Touch Covers are pressure sensitive, so for the Music kit, the harder you hit the Touch Cover, the louder the sound plays.

Microsoft is launching the Surface with promotions for some of its Web services. There's a "Best of Skype" promotion, which gives you one year of free international calls and one year of free Skype/Boingo Wi-Fi cacess, and 200GB of Skydrive cloud storage for two years.

Microsoft will continue selling the Surface RT for $349. The Surface 2 will retail for $449, and the Surface Pro 2 will cost $899. Both launch on October 22nd, with pre orders starting on September 24th.