Eve Devices, the scrappy Finnish technology company that set out to compete with Microsoft's Surface three years ago, has finally announced a successor to the original Eve V

The second-generation Eve V is a significant upgrade from the original Gone are the small display and chunky bezels, and in its place is a sleeker, larger device that makes the rumored Surface Pro 8 look conservative by comparison

The new Eve V features a 134 IGZO display with a 16:10 aspect ratio and 3840x2400 resolution On the side are two USB 4 Type-C ports, one USB 32 Type-C port, an amplified headphone jack, a microSD card slot, and a nanoSIM slot The device is powered by an Intel 11th generation Tiger Lake CPU and Intel's new Iris Xe graphics

Users can choose between Core i5 or Core i7 processors and 16 or 32 GB of RAM; SSDs are available in 512 GB and 1 TB

Unlike the original Eve V, the snap-on keyboard and pen must be purchased separately The keyboard ranges from $130 to $145, and the 4,096-pressure level V Pen is an additional $80

While the original Eve V aimed to undercut Microsoft's Surface in performance at the same price, this new unit appears to demand a greater price The cheapest Eve V on the product website, configured with the cheapest keyboard option and V-Pen, totals $1,500 An older Surface Pro 7 with similar specifications as possible would cost $1,269 Presumably, a new Surface with the latest Intel or AMD chips would be priced similarly to the Eve V The biggest problem, however, was customer support; Eve Devices is a small company backed by a group of maniacal technologists, so it did not have the customer service muscle of a major computer manufacturer Because Eve Devices was a small company backed by a group of geeky technicians, it did not have the customer service capabilities of a large computer manufacturer However, this idea did not work at all

Today, sites like TrustPilot receive complaints ranging from late orders, no receipt, and no refunds to zero support or accountability for broken devices There is also a sub-Reddit dedicated to users' experiences with Eve

In an interview with The Verge, CEO Konstantinos Karatsevidis attributed the problems to growing pains mixed with high demand

"Supply chain management is our weakness due to us being a small fish in a big ocean," Karatsevidis told Sam Byford of The Verge We are competing with the Apple's, Samsung's, and Microsoft's of the world for the same high-end components, and our suppliers are reluctant to deal in the relatively small quantities we need"

Yves has since partnered with Ireland-based design firm PCH International, which, according to Karatsevidis, has much stronger supply chain relationships and can meet demand more easily The announcement did little to assuage some who continue to attack Eve Devices as a scam

In a statement to Engadget, an Eve representative said:

"The changes we have made to our business model boil down to two points:

Most refund requests have already been processed The remaining ones are being resolved as a top priority"

The second generation Eve V will launch in the third quarter of 2021; Karatsevidis promised in an interview with The Verge that "almost everything will change this time," but it remains to be seen if Eve will launch smoothly next year