Microsoft signals it's committed to Surface hardware for the long haul

Though Microsoft has lost hundreds of millions of dollars on its Surface tablets, the company made it clear on Monday that it has no intention of backing away from the platform, going as far as to openly state plans are in place for future Surface tablets in the years to come.

The new Surface lineup represents a refinement of last year's models, sporting better battery life and upgrades to features like screen resolution and new keyboard accessories.

But perhaps most surprising is Microsoft's continued commitment to the Windows RT platform, a stripped-down version of Windows 8 that runs on the company's entry-level Surface tablets with ARM processors. While some have speculated that Microsoft could kill off Windows RT, the company signaled Monday that it is actually headed in the opposite direction, doubling down on Windows RT devices in the form of the new entry-level Surface 2.