Microsoft Surface, Tablet Edition, Version 8

All About Surface for Windows RT
All About Surface for Windows 8 Pro

I certainly won't reject the opportunity to look at one, but I have a couple of concerns.

1. Microsoft badly mismanaged Origami/UMPC, years before the first iPad. I still have burn marks from that. I don't want to see a repeat of that.
2. The pressure sensitive keyboard cover is THE killer innovation in the device, and that is something that is independent of both the software and the tablet specs.
3. No pricing has been announced, and according to the specs, I don't see any model with built-in radio (3g/4g). That means no carrier deals, so no subsidized pricing. If these units start at more than $350 for the lowest tier, I don't think they'll succeed (just the unit, the keyboard-cover will be a 30-60 I'm guessing).

All that being said, I will wait until at least three months after availability (ETA Q2 2013? Maybe)- before purchasing one if it proves to be more than slick presentation. Windows 8 plays a big part. The most recent release candidate is improved in many ways, but I am still not a big fan of the Metro interface on desktops and notebooks. And the user learning curve for it is very unpredictable. You'd think it was an easy concept - hit start and type what you want to do or app to run...but that has been available on Windows 7 for some time, and users still have hundreds of shortcuts on their desktops.


There are things about all of this that I find troubling, but that's due to #1 on that list above.