Rumors point to new accessories for Microsoft's Surface tablets
Rumors recently posted on Neowin and Winsupersite point to two new accessories for Surface tablets: a thicker keyboard cover with an integrated battery, and a docking station.
The Power Cover is meant to address one of the Surface Pro's biggest shortcomings – its battery life. While the upcoming Surface Pro 2 is expected to be much improved in this regard (due to an Intel Haswell processor), an extra battery never hurts. The cover will be a thicker version of the Type Cover and is reportedly also compatible with the Surface RT and the Surface 2 (the successor to the Surface RT). In any case, the extra battery can't be very large given that the cover itself weighs only 1.1 pounds and is 0.38 inches thick.
The lack of a docking station is another fairly common complaint about the original Surface Pro, and certainly was a factor in preventing it from becoming a single all encompassing device for professionals. The new Surface Docking Station adds a mini DisplayPort, a USB 3.0 port, three USB 2.0 ports, an Ethernet port, microphone and headphone/speaker ports, and is only compatible with the Pro and the Pro 2.
Both new accessories are expected to launch sometime this year, either with or shortly after the Surface Pro 2 and the Surface 2. Prices are still anyone's guess.