Also considerably less hard disc space than other tablets due to the OS taking up more space, lacks of apps, Metro regarded by some as very awkward to learn and very awkward to use, and with the Pro model the need to more frequently recharge the battery.

The lack of apps and the design of Metro might be fixed in the future if WinRT survives, but it's unlikely that the other factors will improve much if at all.

Considerably less space than other tablets? The £400 iPad has approx 14 GB free space. The £400 Surface has approx 16GB free space WITH Office installed (which can be removed) PLUS an SD card slot.

Metro on a tablet generally has very positive reviews due to inclusion of a touchscreen.

The lack of apps is not relevant to the discussion at hand which is about whether a hybrid (in general) can be better than having separate tablet and laptop (which is the Apple model).

All I really said was that it wasn't the best tablet on the market. So unless you're of the view that it is in fact the best tablet on the market, there isn't a lot to disagree with there.

But since you ask, I'd cite the limited number of apps, and the less than great sounding Windows RT as the main reasons.

With laptops, the point is that it's not going to be as good as an actual laptop, not that its not as good a laptop replacement as other tablets.

As a hybrid device - yes. But if someone is in the market for a tablet or a laptop, I'm not sure that a bit of both, but not as good as either, leaves a very big market. It will absolutely be the sweet spot for some people, I'm sure. But that market will likely be smaller than the markets for laptops or tablets.

Yes, according to this:
http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/ga...roid-1C6877570
iOS and Android (with basic apps like mail, calendars, and so on) both weigh in at less than two gigabytes, meaning that storage starting at 29.5GB still has around 27.5GB or so to fill up with apps and media.

Windows 8 RT and its built-in apps, on the other hand, tip the scales at a comparatively massive 8GB, more than four times the size of iOS or Android. On top of that, 5GB is reserved by the system for recovery purposes — backups of the system registry and the like. The result is that, from the 32GB advertised on the box, just 16 actual gigabytes are ready to be used for your own purposes.

It's a full Windows there, plus Office. But it has an SD slot and you can add 64GB easily for your data, which I did. A connectivity is great, too. Being able to integrate it to my homegroup was nice. I don't even have to have a lot of media on it, I just access my other home computers with it.

No, only RT. Can't run Windows programs, can't run programs in windows. Can only run Metro apps.

Office isn't a Metro app. It's full Windows. You can't run Windows applications on it because it is a different processor architecture. It's only by a choice they control what can run on it

Windows is more than just the ability to run Win32 applications, though. I think what Ivan was getting at is this is a fully-featured desktop-class OS and not an upscaled smartphone OS. Its multitasking abilities, for instance, blow away anything iOS or Android can currently do.

You've got complete access to the file system and full network file sharing support. Local storage? Cloud storage? I'm sharing terabyes of data over my local network just by adding a shared network drive and adding it to my libraries. Chucking data back and forth over the network instead of mounting it like an external drive is great. This is a computer, not a peripheral.

Then there are the sort of peripherals the platform itself is capable of supporting. I managed to get hold of a Windows RT driver for a USB Ethernet adapter and connect it successfully to my Surface. The platform is being tightly-controlled by Microsoft, but at its core level, it is as extensible as regular Windows. The smart folks over at XDA developers are already close to working out how to recompile Win32 applications and install them under Windows RT.

It really is full Windows, just on an incompatible platform with x86. Its no different than Windows Server running on Itanium processors or back in the good old days, I had to look after some NT4 servers running on DEC Alpha processors. You couldn't just install x86-compiled Win32 apps on them either (though Itanium would actually emulate x86). They weren't any less Windows because of it, though.

Perhaps Microsoft need to make all that much clearer in their publicity material and information provided to reviewers, because the message most definitely isn't getting through.

I think you're right there. I'm finding a lot of people who love my Surface and what it can do, but it does require me demoing it to them.

Microsoft need to invest in training up sales personnel at normal retail outlets, so the people selling these devices actually know what they're selling. They also need to invest in advertising that actually shows the product being used, instead of schoolgirls dancing around with it.

Having said that, though, some people are starting to recognise my Surface as "that one that clicks in," so maybe their ad campaign is working. They're starting to get recognition. Now they need to change gears and actually show people how to use it and why its worth buying. Right now, most people don't know why they should get it over an iPad or a Nexus. Its no-one else's job but Microsoft to tell people why.

They certainly need to work on their PR. I thought myself that Windows RT is just a start screen and apps you start from there. But it has a desktop just like a regular Windows, with Control Panel, etc. It does even have a command prompt. Not that you can do much with it at the moment other than running Windows commands. But it only needs MS or somebody else to remove the added obstacle of not being able to install anything else than a Windows Store style apps and it will work. I wouldn't mind an ARM version of Windows/Total Commander

Having lived with one for the last 6 or so weeks this thing takes tablets to a whole new level, multi tasking the Windows 8 way is the way forwards for tablets being able to seamlessly switch between apps and shock horror actually leave it doing something in the background is almost like living in the future.

MS must get this into retail as your average punter is never going to buy before being able to actually trying a device and glad to see they have got it into John Lewis.

A bit of Googling suggests that Android tablets including all three Google Nexus models can do true multitasking, whereas the iPad suspends an app when you switch to another one. Is that correct?

http://uk.ign.com/articles/2013/01/2...g-february-9th

Looks like the pro is coming out 9th feb for America. Anyone still excited/buying one of these? I would have probably have bought one when they announced it, but the wait has killed the hype for me. Think I will wait till june/july for haswell to show its face. I hate the waiting game

I already have Surface RT which I enjoy more than I thought I ever would, so it's a no for the pro atm. Unless I get urges, in that case I will unload the RT on some unsuspecting family member and get the pro for me

I was going to get one before christmas, but i ended up getting a Nexus 10 instead.

I'll be sticking with my RT, as it does everything I need in a mobile device. The Pro has too many drawbacks for me (weight and reduced battery life are dealbreakers for me).

I do, however, fully expect to replace my RT in the Autumn with a Pro 2 running a Haswell chip. I could be wrong, but I expect it will eliminate the dealbreakers I currently have with the Pro and provide the ultimate tablet/PC hybrid.

Here's an article about first experiences with the pro. Nothing about the battery life though.

Hands on with Microsoft's Surface Pro, Available in US & Canada on February 9th

I think I may get one later with the Haswell processor.

Yet more bad news for Microsoft:

Surface RT Dogged by Low Sales, High Returns
http://winsupersite.com/mobile-devic...s-high-returns

Well I love my brick and I am not fed up with it yet

The problem, as I see it, having both an Android tablet and an iPad, is that Surface is a very poor third. I mean, just look at the crappy tile arrangement, and then compare that to the sheer elegance of an iPad, or the exuberant upstart can do attitude of Android.

Microsoft is offering nothing that anyone really wants to have. Instead, they've messed up Windows big time, and tried to ram a new way down customers throats. Instead of copying style from Apple, or flexibility from Android, they've taken the worst aspects of both and attempted to fob it off as something bright and shiny and wonderful.

So far, very few peeps are falling for it.

I actually tried all three and prefer Windows RT. I can't stand the faux realism of the other two.

PC World (the US magazine): Why Windows RT is hurtling toward disaster
http://www.pcworld.com/article/20252...-disaster.html

Why do you hate the Surface so much? Did it insult your mother?

A lot of people are waiting to see what the Surface Pro is like before making a decision.

i have 2 android tablets but am eagerly waiting more hands-on Pro reviews. Whilst the Android tablets are great for casual work im hoping the Pro might 'almost' remove the need for my laptop.

I have Windows 8 on a touchscreen PC (and a laptop) and I love it. You do get the feeling that the press want the MS offerings to fail before they are even here. It took Android tablets a while to build up the steam that they have now....