Microsoft may be testing out the Surface 2 tablet right now and leaving behind a trail of evidence.
The device name "Microsoft Corporation Surface 2" has regularly popped up on the device logs among other Windows-run hardware, according to ad firm AdDuplex.
"Microsoft Corporation Surface with Windows 8.1 Pro" is a second mystery device listed among the 10,000 different model names AdDuplex sees in a single day.
"The [Surface 2 listing] definitely looks like a new device," suggested the ad firm, which based its data on the 393 Windows Store apps running its AdDuplex software.
"But the second one theoretically could be just a change in what Surface Pro with Windows 8.1 installed reports."
AdDuplex went on to speculate that the preview version of W8.1 didn't change the device name, so it's either a later build like the Windows 8.1 RTM or a new version of Surface Pro altogether.
Logs float idea of a Nokia tablet
Even though Nokia doesn't have a Windows tablet on the market, the Finnish company has strongly hinted that it is working on such a device.
The logs could back up this years-in-the-making promise, with Nokia device sightings happening as early as October of last year, according to the ad firm.
"The device was named RX-107. Then we've seen RX-108. And then RX-113, 114, 115, 116. Interestingly enough we haven't seen RX-109 through RX-112."
"It's hard to say if all of these are just variations of one device progressing through development stages, or 2 device lines (107-108 and 113-116) or something else."
We should get further clarification next month, as Nokia is rumored to finally unveil its first Windows tablet in New York City on Sept. 26.
- One of those could point to the rumored 10-.1-inch Nokia Sirius running Windows RT.
