Microsoft just announced a docking station for the Surface Pro and Surface Pro 2, the first docking accessory for the Surface line of tablets. The dock has been expected for a long time, and it looks like a solid workstation intended to appeal to business users who use the Surface for serious computing.

The Surface Docking Station, unveiled at a press event in New York City today, is large and sturdy-looking, framed by two wings that fit on either side of the docked tablet. The dock includes three USB 2.0 ports, one USB 3.0 port, audio in, audio out, and will of course charge the device while connected. It can also power two monitors.

Unfortunately for Surface RT and Surface 2 users, the new docking station will will only support Surface Pro and Surface Pro 2. Like many other docking stations, you can use the Surface version to connect a display via a mini DisplayPort dongle, or use a wired connection through the ethernet port.

Seven months ago, Surface vice president Panos Panay there were no plans to build a docking station, so it's interesting that the company changed its mind. Perhaps the software giant listened to customers who remarked that the ability to have monitors, keyboard, and mouse connected to a docking station "would really seal this system up for a lot of business users." The Docking Station for Surface Pro will retail at an estimated $199.99. Microsoft expects to release it in early 2014.

Check out our Surface 2 live blog for the latest updates!