I like this review. It's genuinely quirky, and no bullshit.<p>Honestly despite all the quibbles (across all the reviews) I think this is a big win for MS. The praise for the fit and finish, the feeling of the kickstand, the click in of the covers, the covers themselves - it's astronomical. Words like 'meticulous' and 'remarkable' are massive praise here. This might be revision one, but sounds like it definitely holds its own against the iPad. MS has made a product that is extremely, extraordinarily confident. And that's the most important thing really - because they've lacked or seemed to lack confidence against Apple for a while, and it's been their biggest problem.<p>Gosh I'm excited. This only bodes well, for MS and for us. A reinvigorated MS will be an amazing thing to experience - it's time for an end to this boring iEverything monoculture! I personally cannot wait for Apple to get their smugness rubbed right back in their snotty faces.
> <i>Yes, you can use it as your only computer. I would never have made that claim about an iPad or Android tablet. But if you only need to live in Microsoft Office and the web and e-mail, and use your computer for media consumption, you’ll do great with this.</i><p>So an "only computer" requires Microsoft Office, everything else is negotiable.
I don't get the whole "not enough apps in the app store" critique. What are they expecting? The tablet is not even out yet and they expect a million apps or what? Obviously this is a problem with a new operating system... It's a valid critique in a way but there is nothing Microsoft can do short of hiring ten thousand developers to just make apps for it before launch.
The review starts out comparing the Surface to the iPad, saying both are better and worse than the other in different ways. But then the review goes on the trash almost everything unique to the Surface. It sounds like a rather splendid failure. I doubt we will be talking much about this product in 2-3 years.
Wow, looks awesome and for business, the ability to use Microsoft office is the "killer app", as much as I dislike ppt and word and wheel they are the staples of most companies so the lack if office on iPad is hurting it for business users and this will be just what they are looking for. I am glad to see a new player (although msft are well experienced at touch computers) and excited to get my hands on one. They hit the pain points of the iPad out of the park, can't type for toffee, and lack of msft office for work stuff. Google docs is great for trivial things but not for getting real work done in a team where everyone else has Office.
22 paragraphs before getting into what the thing actually <i>does</i>.<p>22 paragraphs dominated by nobody noticing it, the kickstand is pretty good, and at first coerced glance people prefer iPads.<p>Then it gets into what the tablet isn't: Windows as you know it.
That's almost an Ubuntu logo on the f6 key. :P <a href="http://www.wired.com/reviews/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/tablet001.jpg" rel="nofollow">http://www.wired.com/reviews/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/tabl...</a>
The tech industry is really fleshing out every form factor between phone and full sized laptop now.<p>As others have said this could fill a niche for who only need office in terms of productivity tools and also want the benefits of a tablet. So as well as business people students would fit that niche.<p>Personally though for anything productivity wise I am going to be happy to carry around a laptop, any tablet usage is purely as a consumer.
Yeah, it would be nice for tablet diversity but it still feels like it doesn't know what it wants to be... haven't used it yet though so I'd be willing to be swayed.
Can we enforce a tag or for auto-playing videos with sound, maybe?<p>I'll look into solutions on my side after the second most unfavorable situation because of links with this bull... on HN.<p>But please.. Mods, can't we change the to something helpful in these cases?<p>Something like NSFW (which it very well might be as well)?