Start
here.
That was my initial reaction when I read the first rumours that Redmond would be introducing its own tablet this week. My mind immediately shot back to Zune, and other failed forays into consumer electronics from Microsoft. I thought about
TouchPad. About
Cius.
I thought about
THIS!
In fact, I think the most successful piece of Microsoft hardware I can remember was the
Arc Mouse. I carry one with me all the time. It's brilliant. But it's a mouse.
Then a funny thing happened. Microsoft had a press conference that didn't look like
this . I mean, it had its
hiccups.
But overall, the products looked fantastic. Without going into too much detail - you can do that
here. Surface's screen protector and keyboard could be revolutionary. It has a kick stand. It's light, thin, and runs an ARM-only version of Windows 8. In fact, my first thought after the presser was Microsoft had just shown-up all of its OEM partners with the Surface. And, now that the dust has settled, the biggest question remains how (and if) they will respond.
But my question for this forum is different. If you're a user standardized on Windows applications (Office, Outlook, etc.) can you see a tablet that runs these applications natively, in your workflow? Could you see this as a replacement to your laptop? In fact, there are a few comments already that think the Surface could be serious competition for the Ultrabook category.
So, for those who don't already have an Apple, Android, or BlackBerry tablet (and even for those that do), what do you think? Does the Surface interest you? What do you like about it?
No pricing has been revealed on the devices yet, and that's likely to make or break the Surface, but we can definitely speculate on how useful it will be.