Let's say the rumors are true, and that Microsoft does in fact bring back the Start button and a boot-to-desktop option to address longstanding user complaints. Can that fix what's ailing Windows 8? 

Perhaps, eventually — but Microsoft is still treating the symptom rather than the disease. The problem is the PC itself, not the operating system that runs it. And that's what Microsoft (and, secondarily, its Wintel partner Intel) really needs to transform.

At this point, it seems clear that the tiled, touch friendly Start screen and the lack of a boot option to the familiar "desktop" interface scared off some people who might otherwise have upgraded to Windows 8. Instead, those PC users stuck with their familiar Windows 7 or Windows XP interface, or powered down their PCs altogether and turned to their phones or tablets.

Wintel Panic

All of which has the onetime Wintel duopoly in a bit of a panic. Microsoft needs an OS that will delight consumers. It's so far failed in that, so it's apparently retrofitting Windows 8 for folks who need more handholding to move to the new OS. Similarly, Microsoft needs a robust apps environment, so it's looking to entice developers to its Windows Store. That's not going so well, either.

Intel, meanwhile, continues to push down the cost of its microprocessors to a point where Windows tablets running on its Core microprocessors can compete with the Android and iOS markets. By the holiday season, Intel executives said, we should see Core-based laptops at between $499 to $599, with new, more powerful Atom options in the $200 price range.

Put those together, and here's what needs to happen.

1. Downplay The Start Screen

If Microsoft brings back the boot-to-desktop option, the company faces an interesting marketing dilemma: Should it still promote the tiled Start screen that turns off at least some of its customers? No. That doesn't mean that Microsoft should change the Windows 8 interface — the Start screen was designed as a tablet interface, and should remain so. But Microsoft should make the Start screen the face of the Surface tablet, and make the Windows desktop the face of its Windows 8 advertising for PCs.

2. Gently Push New Users To The Desktop 

Clearly, a portion of Microsoft's customer base has been traumatized by its initial reaction to Windows 8. There's a real risk that these users may never return to the Windows fold.

But gently managing a boot-to-desktop option may mitigate some of that. Boot-to-desktop should be presented as one of the first options in the Windows installation, perhaps accompanied by something like this: "Would you like Windows 8 to boot to the Windows Desktop? The Windows desktop provides a familiar environment for users of Windows XP and Windows 7."

From there, let them explore and do as they wish. If the Start Screen is as compelling as Microsoft seems to think, at least some users will eventually move over of their own volition.

3. Solve The Blah Windows Apps Problem

One of the bigger problems with the Start screen that Microsoft so far hasn't been able to address is that most of the applications featured there are basically uninspiring (Fresh Paint excluded). With Windows XP and Windows 7, those applications were tucked away behind the Start button, where users were free to ignore them. With the Windows 8 Start screen, they're out there for the world to see and grow disillusioned with. And it's not immediately clear how booting to the desktop's empty expanse will be much of an improvement.

But by making the Windows 8 Desktop the focus, Microsoft's advertising, at least, can encompass the broad expanse of Windows apps out there. Mix and match! Steal a page from Apple. Highlight the flashiest apps, whether they be from the Windows 8 world or even from Windows 7. Legacy OS support is a feature, too. And free advertising for Adobe, EA, or some other developer can only engender goodwill.

4. Make Windows Shine On Tablets — Cheaply

Microsoft also desperately needs a successful mobile strategy. And the only real way to to do that is to offer more for less.

In other words, if Microsoft wants to leverage Windows in the mobile space, it needs to really leverage Windows. The Windows RT version of Surface failed in part because it was a crippled version of Windows 8; it's time to retire it. The Surface with Windows Pro, by contrast, could be a hit if its price falls far enough. And if Microsoft pushes hard to convince buyers that they can accomplish a whole lot more with a full-fledged Windows tablet than they can with competing products.

Microsoft needs to show that a Windows tablet — derivative of the Surface, or one based on the new quad-core "Bay Trail" chips — can offer desktop PC-class performance at tablet prices. We know tablets are mobile. Microsoft Stores need to feature a Windows tablet or convertible running the flashiest piece of software it can, on a conventional desktop monitor, with the price tag prominently displayed. The message: all this for $299??!! Why would I ever want an Android tablet?

5. Find A Mobile Apps Tiger Team

Tucking your Android or iOS phone in your pocket is an unconscious decision. And as more game developers choosing to write for iOS and Android, fewer are around to focus on Windows. There's another key advantage for iOS and Android, too: chances are that you can play the same game on your iPad and iPhone, or your Android phone and tablet. You can't often say the same for Windows Phone and Surface.

If users can't share apps, files, and other documents between the PC, notebook, tablet and phone, they're going to start looking elsewhere. Microsoft's realized this with its core apps, including Office and the Xbox. Netflix traverses the range of Microsoft's platforms, but that's about it.

There is no easy fix here. If Microsoft can't develop the apps it needs itself, it's going to have to go out and buy them. This is the Nintendo problem, writ large. Without AAA third-party software, Microsoft will have to go it alone. 

Delaying The Inevitable

IDC's right; the PC is dying. It's inevitable, and Microsoft is merely rearranging desk chairs on the Titanic. But in this case, there's a chance the ship could make harbor before it sinks.

Notebooks will eventually give way to tablets, whether or not they have a keyboard attached to them. Microsoft won the desktop, and it won the notebook. Now it needs to win tablets. If it shows weakness now, it will be buried. 

Can Microsoft throw enough money at these problems to fix them? It may have to. It can patch Windows 8, and Intel can help keep prices falling. But the apps and mobile problems require more extensive surgery, and the time to act is now.

Image Source: Flickr/yoshimov

For all the wonder and convenience of the post-PC era, there's one big disadvantage worth griping about: As we move toward tablets and smartphones, our devices are getting harder to open up and fix ourselves.

It's not just Apple products, either. Sure, Cupertino's wares have become so notoriously hard-to-fix for so long, that a bogus news story about Apple developing a new asymmetric screw spread from like wildfire last year before people figured out it was fake. As it turns out, though, most tablets and smartphones are relatively hard to fix ourselves. The iPad is pretty bad, for example, but the new Microsoft Surface Pro is even worse. 

In a recent teardown by iFixIt, the Surface Pro scored a measly 1 point out of 10 on the site's fixability scale. That's a point lower than the fourth generation iPad and iPad Mini (which were tied at a still-pathetic 2 points).

The Surface Pro has more than 90 tiny screws inside it. Yes, 90 screws. On top of that, many components are glued together using adhesive that makes it difficult for do-it-yourself tinkerers to take the device apart and swap out parts. 

Thankfully, Microsoft does let you (very carefully) remove the battery, which is thankfully not soldered into place. But try removing the LCD screen or solid state drive and you're likely to ruin your brand new tablet/ultrabook hybrid. 

The Kindle Fire HD, Nexus 7 and iPhone 5 are all considerably easier to open up and tinker with. But at 7 points apiece, these devices still aren't as consumer friendly as PCs used to be. It would appear that we're trading our freedom to update, expand and repair our devices for convenience, sleek design and unwieldy gobs of adhesive.

(Of course, It's not just tablets and smartphones. Apple's newest laptop got some very low marks from iFixIt, which called the retina MacBook Pro "the least repairable laptop yet.")

A Crappy Deal For Consumers

These new devices might be slick and trendy, but this trade-off sucks for consumers. Since repairs and hardware upgrades (insofar as they're even possible) are harder to complete at home, fixing a shattered screen, replacing a component or troubleshooting hardware problems requires consumers to pay some high-priced technician or replace the device all together. 

There's an obvious strategic incentive here. Companies like Apple depend on consumers upgrading their devices every year or two in order to keep their sales flowing. Why risk fixing my iPhone myself when I can trade up to a shinier, faster new iPhone 5?

For Microsoft, Apple, Samsung, and other hardware manufacturers, The Age Of Unrepairable Machines is a good thing. For everybody else, it's kind of a bummer. 

Lead image from iFixIt.

Stung by criticism that his Surface with Windows 8 Pro tablet can't measure up in terms of battery life, Microsoft's Surface chief responded that the company made sacrifices to ensure the highest performance possible.

And members of the team led by Panos Panay, Microsoft's general manager in charge of Surface, implied that a set of mysterious pins on the device could be used for future Touch Covers with integrated charging capabilities.

In a refreshing, candid give-and-take, Panay and his team participated in the second "Ask Me Anything" round of questions on Reddit, where the general public was free to ask about Linux support (?!), suggest a bump in RAM to 8GB, and ask about future docking stations. But the three main issues boiled down to

1. The Surface Pro's reportedly poor battery life, on the order of four to six hours.
2. The fact that less than half of the Surface Pro's disk capacity is actually available to store user data.
3. A pesky screen resolution issue.

To their credit, both points were later called out at the top of the post, a refreshingly direct response from normally stay-on-message Microsoft executives.

Hate The Surface Pro's Battery Life? Buy Windows RT

On the battery life issue, Panay claimed that it was a result of maximizing performance:

"The product was designed to take full advantage of Windows 8 coupled with the Ivy Bridge Core processor from Intel. We created a product that did not compromise speed, performance in any way," Panay and his team responded.

"With that, we wanted to be the best notebook/laptop product in its class, but still deliver you the tablet form factor," the team added. "This product is optimized in every way to take advantage of the full third-generation Core i5 it runs, yet give the best battery life. If you compare it to say a MacBook Air, you will quickly see that pound-for-pound in battery size vs. battery life, you will find optimizations that puts Surface best in its class. That said, we picked a smaller battery to be sure we were able to give you the same performance and to keep it thin. This kept the weight under 2lbs, and still kept it thin enough to take advantage of our great Windows work for inking and give you a great inking experience (like pressure-sensitive inking, ability to do kanji, great sketching). While these tradeoffs are challenges as much as they are opportunities, we think given the performance and experience you will be getting, it is an exciting product."

What reviewers found is that if you want long battery life, turn to the Surface RT; one of the reviewers that put both tablets through its paces, Anand Lal Shimpi, found that the Surface RT lasted 9 hours while Web browsing. Compared to the Surface Pro, the RT also lasted twice as long under intensive video testing, 10.5 hours vs. 5 hours.

And that's the way Microsoft is now positioning the two Surface options: "If you're looking for an all-day battery and an entertainment-first experience with the ability to still get some work done – Surface RT is for you," the team wrote. "If you want a powerful PC that gets work done with the flexibility of a tablet, then Surface Pro is your device."

The Mystery Pins

Redditors also noticed the additional pins on the Surface Pro, which Microsoft so far has left unexplained. "Does Microsoft have any plans for an external battery or for a thicker keyboard cover that has an extra battery?" "irishchug" wanted to know.

"That would require extending the design of the accessory spine to include some way to transfer higher current between the peripheral and the main battery. Which we did..." the team responded.

They also referred to the pins as the "accessory spine."

Poor Storage? Sorry

As for the storage issue, Microsoft's Marc Descamp explained that the low storage space was simply a design choice, complicated by the fact that Microsoft wanted to add a recovery disk, too. And the situation may be improving: "Initial reports out regarding available disk space were conservative (eg. 23GB available on 64GB and 83GB available on the 128GB system), however our final production units are coming in with ~6-7GB additional free space," Descamp wrote. 

Of course, an SD card slot is also included, and users can  connect an external hard drive via the USB 3 port. Since the case is sealed, however, the internal SSD storage cannot be upgraded.

Resolution Fix Coming

Microsoft said it is also preparing to address the other nagging issue with the Surface Pro, the screen resolution and scaling, which can make some apps looks blurry and out of focus. Microsoft said it was working on a fix, and suggested a labyrinthine workaround while users wait.

As a journalist, I can't help but wonder why Microsoft executives won't answer these questions when reporters and analysts ask them, but come up with relatively honest, straightforward answers when queried by the general public. Nevertheless, we now have some concrete explanations of Microsoft's design choices, and hints as to future products.

That's a win-win for all concerned.

The reviews for Microsoft's Surface Pro tablet are in, and people seem to like the full Windows 8 version of Microsoft's tablet a lot more than they liked the Surface RT. 

Last year, the Web gave middling scores to the Surface RT, based on what reviewers considered flaws in the basic hardware design as well as the lack of apps written for Windows RT, Microsoft's incompatible, ARM-powered version of Windows 8. For the Surface Windows 8 Pro, however, scores tended to improve, as reviewers valued the enhanced performance. 

Here's the short summary: Reviewers loved the app compatibility, and being able to run the regular Windows apps they knew and loved makes a significant difference. Games that were touch-enabled, like Civilization V, offer an "ungodly amount of potential," according to Gizmodo.

But the Surface Pro also uses 150% scaling by default, a problem in some applications that don't handle fractional scaling well. That's going to make some applications look odd and blurry. Furthermore, the battery life was disappointing: Anandtech clocked it at 6 hours just lightly Web browsing, and Engadget measured just 3 hours 46 minutes when pushed to the limits using an intensive rundown test.

Reviewers like PC World also noted that while the Surface RT existed largely in a vacuum, since its release competitors have released their own tablets, such as the Lenovo Yoga 13 or Acer W700. Those new machines may offer compelling alternatives to the Surface Pro.

Even more troubling, perhaps, many reviewers questioned the Surface Pro's place in the computing world - saying that despite better performance and compatibility, the relatively expensive device still doesn't properly fill the gap between laptops and tablets. As much as the device itself, the very concept of the Surface has yet to convince many people of its value and utility. 

The Web Weighs In On The Surface Pro

The Verge: "The Surface RT was riddled with compromises, from the odd omissions — five-finger multitouch rather than ten — to the dealbreaking performance problems. The Surface Pro has none of those. It's as fast, consistent, and capable as any ultrabook I've tested in the last several months, and from a touch and responsiveness standpoint may be the best I've used. It has no confusing app incompatibilies, no weird performance issues. Sure, it's heavier and thicker than the Surface RT and has frustratingly poor battery life, but it's worth both the tradeoff and the extra expense. If you're going to buy a Surface, buy the Surface Pro. Period."

But: "Even a well-executed Surface still doesn't work for me, and I'd bet it doesn't work for most other people either. It's really tough to use on anything but a desk, and the wide, 16:9 aspect ratio pretty severely limits its usefulness as a tablet anyway. It's too big, too fat, and too reliant on its power cable to be a competitive tablet, and it's too immutable to do everything a laptop needs to do. In its quest to be both, the Surface is really neither. It's supposed to be freeing, but it just feels limiting."

Engadget: "The Surface Pro comes about as close as we've yet experienced, but it's still compromised at both angles of attack. When trying to be productive, we wished we had a proper laptop and, when relaxing on the couch, we wished we had a more finger-friendly desktop interface — though more native Windows 8 apps might solve the problem by keeping us from having to even go there."

"That it offers compatibility with the massive back-catalog of Windows apps gives this a strong leg up over the earlier Surface RT, but the thickness, heft and battery life are big marks against. We're confident Microsoft will keep refining Windows 8 to make the OS as a whole more seamlessly tablet-friendly, and we look forward to testing the dozens of touch-friendly hybrid and convertible devices due this year, but sadly Microsoft's second tablet doesn't have us reaching for our credit cards. Not quite yet."

PCMag.com: "Is it worth it? If you need a very portable tablet that has full Windows 8 compatibility, powerful components, and a 1080p touch screen, the Microsoft Surface Windows 8 Pro is your tablet."

And: "The Surface Pro is the Windows 8 slate tablet to beat when you need the performance and convenience of a real PC in a compact tablet form factor. It's the one to get if you need corporate or academic campus portability."

AnandTech: "Surface Pro is about as well executed as Microsoft could have made it given the currently available hardware. Its performance is outstanding for a tablet - it’s truly in a class of its own. If I sit down and use Surface Pro as I would an iPad or Android tablet, it delivers an appreciably quicker user experience. Apple does get fairly close in some cases on far slower hardware, which should concern Microsoft quite a bit should Apple ever choose to go ahead and build a tablet/notebook convergence device of its own. But overall, there’s just not a faster tablet on the market. It’s really the combination of a very fast CPU and very fast storage that enable such great performance out of Surface Pro."

Neowin: "It’s not all doom and gloom for the Surface Pro, far from it. It has incredible build quality, the screen is gorgeous, stylus input is fantastic, and it runs Windows 8 with ease - and for the right market, it will be the perfect device.

"While it may not be the perfect machine for all consumers, for those who are willing to work with the Pro and understand its limitations, it will be a great machine that will serve its purpose well. But, unfortunately, the target market is not well defined for the Pro and even though the device is big on ambition, it comes up short on practicality."

Gizmodo: "We talk a lot about the future whenever anyone does something new. While the Surface Pro might not be the future, exactly as it is, it's absolutely full of ideas and functions that are just off the horizon, or just in from it. A pro-level stylus, touch-based everything, extreme portability, creative new ways to type. This is how you'd build a machine from the ground up if you wanted to make sure there was no chance of it falling behind the curve."

But: "You'll need to tinker. Tinker tinker tinker. The process of getting and keeping the Surface Pro into a state that's comfortable and efficient is involved, largely because of Desktop scaling/sizing issues."

Laptop Magazine: "Are tablets the future of mobile computing? Yes, but as the Microsoft Surface Pro demonstrates, there's a long way to go before the right balance is struck between speed and endurance. While we like its design and Core i5 performance, there's no getting around the fact that an $899, two-pound device with 4.5 hours of battery life is impractical for those who need or want to carry a tablet for extended periods of time. And, as a laptop replacement, the Surface Pro falls short, as both keyboard covers — neither of which are included — simply aren't as good as a genuine notebook keyboard."

PC World: "Surface Pro is superior to Surface RT on multiple levels. It’s also the world's best pure Windows tablet (its keyboard accessories notwithstanding), and the Surface model I recommend. But the Windows 8 hardware universe has changed significantly since the Surface brand launched last October. We have many more options to choose from, and hybrid devices that offer more PC than tablet are looking like the machines that make the smarter compromises.

Give me more screen real estate, Microsoft. Give me a keyboard that I can type on all day. You’re getting so, so close to that sublime, perfect marriage of tablet and PC. Surface Pro isn’t the answer—but it comes close."

The Wall Street Journal: "When used on a desk, table, or airplane seat tray, with the kickstand holding the screen upright and the keyboard cover with movable keys, the Pro is a serviceable laptop, especially since, unlike on an iPad or Android tablet, you can use full-fledged PC programs.

"But just as the Pro is compromised as a tablet, it's compromised as a laptop. You get fewer ports and less storage than on many laptops and a keyboard that can't compare with those on many laptops. Some users may not mind the price or bulk of the Surface Pro if it frees them from carrying a tablet for some uses and a laptop for others. But like many products that try to be two things at once, the new Surface Windows 8 Pro does neither as well as those designed for one function."

The New York Times: "So in the end, the Surface Pro isn’t for everyone, it isn’t all it seemed at first, and it isn’t all it could be.

"Even so, there’s a lot to admire in Microsoft’s accomplishment. The Surface Pro is an important idea, almost a new category, and it will be the right machine for a lot of people. It strikes a spot on the size/weight/speed/software spectrum that no machine has ever struck. You can use this thing on a restaurant table without looking obnoxious (much). You can hold it in one hand to read a Kindle book while you’re standing in line.

"And wow, is it happy on an airplane tray table. Lean back all you want, pal. I’m getting work done."

Good news for Microsoft: 200 million information workers want Windows tablets, a report from Forrester claimed Monday, quite a few more than the 900,000 Surface RT tablets that IDC estimated have already been sold into the channel.

If Forrester's numbers truly reflect reality, they indicate a huge pent-up demand for the Surface Pro, which goes on sale this month. The report concludes that both Apple and Microsoft will go at each other's throats to win knowledge workers to their respective camps, riding the wave of the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend. And believe it or not, those workers want Windows tablets like the Surface more than they want iPads.

Forrester also concludes that it's probably curtains for BlackBerry, which the research house labels a "fading presence".

The strongest argument for the legitimacy of the data is the sample size of 9,766 information workers that Forrester polled. Typically, market research firms - whether asking questions about technology, political candidates or laundry soap - poll a representative group of respondents and try to extrapolate that data out to the entire population in question, usually Americans or even worldwide users. The larger the sample size, typically, the greater the reliability of the findings.

So what did Forrester's report conclude?

1.) Apple will win the next-gen smartphone war. Today, 92% of desktop PC users run Windows, 87% of notebook users do the same, while Apple powers 58% of the tablets. Android edges Apple in smartphone use, 37% to 34%. But 33% of workers want their next phone to be an iPhone; 22% want an Android phone, and 10% want a Windows phone. Some 7% own a BlackBerry, and apparently those same 7% want another.

2.) Windows tablet demand tops Apple. Easily the biggest surprise of the report. Of those IT workers polled, only 2% own a Windows tablet. But 32% want one. That tops Apple, with just 26% of those polled wanting an iPad and 12% hoping for another Android tablet.

"For CIOs, there are three mandates that arise from this data: 1.) Apple and Android will be major suppliers to the enterprise. 2.) Microsoft has a fighting chance in tablets. 3.) The workplace of the future is multiplatform," Forrester's report claims.

3.) More workers are bringing their own devices to work, and more are paying for them, too. Forrester claims that we haven't yet hit what it calls "peak BYOD." But aleady more than a third of workers who bring smartphones and laptops into the office picked what they wanted, themselves, the report found. About 12% of workers bought (or were forced to buy) their notebooks themselves, and 18% more (or 129 million workers) bought their own phones.

In total, 36% of the knowledge-based workforce is ready and willing to pay for the computer they want, the report found. "We read that result as code for “I’d like a MacBook or iMac, please,” Forrester said.

The report also noted that more and more employees don't mind having their devices managed by their employer. If a worker loses a cell phone, for example, an IT shop that activates a "kill switch" will wipe the user's device. Workers these days are finding that blocking a thief's access to their personal data is as valuable as blocking access to corporate data, the report concluded.

With more and more workers using multiple devices - desktop, notebook, phone and tablet - and IT shops allowing these devices onto the corporate network, Microsoft may be right - the world may indeed want Windows. 

Microsoft Q&A With Tami Reller

That's all certainly good news for Microsoft, but Windows 8's future remains far from certain. In a "question and answer" session with Windows marketing officer Tami Reller published Monday, Reller stuck to the party line about how "more than 60 million licenses" had been sold for Windows 8, "on par with the record-setting pace we saw with Windows 7."

"With Windows 8, we’ve built an OS that scales across the entire segment: tablets, to PCs to everything PCs can become, with one consistent scalable experience," Reller said. "Windows 8 is a big, ambitious change and as I said, we’re only just getting started."

Nothing has changed here. Reller is repeating the same points that she has been hammering for weeks now. Yes, Microsoft delivered solid financial results for the most recent quarter. But persistent questions about Windows 8 demand have lingered, and Forrester's report may have answered some of them. 

Apple announced a new version of its fourth-generation iPad today. Apple’s newest will be a 128GB version starting at $799 with cellular connectivity at $929 and hits stores on February 5th. With the tablet industry trending towards smaller, cheaper versions, why would Apple buck the trend and release one of the most expensive tablets on the market?

The answer has little to do with Google, Amazon or the Android Army. For Apple, the 128GB iPad is all about business and enterprise. What company controls the enterprise software market and is releasing its own expensive tablet?

Yeah, that would be Microsoft.

“With twice the storage capacity and an unparalleled selection of over 300,000 native iPad apps, enterprises, educators and artists have even more reasons to use iPad for all their business and personal needs,” Apple VP of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller said in a release. 

Apple has set its eyes on the dying infrastructure of the PC industry and Microsoft’s Windows operating system business. That is really the only reason that Cupertino would unveil an iPad with 128 gigabytes, a size that challenges many of the “ultrabooks” that have become popular in the laptop market these days. 

The new iPad also looks to compete with the forthcoming Surface Pro running Windows 8 expected to hit stores on February 9 with 64GB starting at $899. A 128GB Surface Pro is expected in the near future which will likely be $100-$200 more expensive. It looks like Apple as sitting on Microsoft’s announcement of Surface Pro price and availability and held the 128GB iPad back until it could come out a few days earlier and be more cost efficient for the amount of storage that it offers. 

If you have any doubt that Apple is targeting the enterprise and Microsoft with this new version of the fourth-generation iPad, the language in Apple’s press release leaves little doubt of where the device is targeted. 

“iPad continues to have a significant impact on business with virtually all of the Fortune 500 and over 85 percent of the Global 500 currently deploying or testing iPad. Companies regularly utilizing large amounts of data such as 3D CAD files, X-rays, film edits, music tracks, project blueprints, training videos and service manuals all benefit from having a greater choice of storage options for iPad. The over 10 million iWork® users, and customers who rely on other incredible apps like Global Apptitude for analyzing team film and creating digital playbooks, Auria for an incredible 48 track recording system, or AutoCAD for drafting architectural and engineering drawings, also benefit greatly from having the choice of an iPad with more storage capacity.”

Apple then goes on to quote three enterprise executives from AutoCAD, Global Apptitude and WaveMachine Labs. The targeting towards the enterprise makes sense for a 128GB iPad because, really, no consumer needs that much storage on a tablet. That would be a lot of songs and movies.

Over the last couple of years, tablets have dug into the revenues of traditional PC makers like HP, Lenovo, Dell and others. With Apple’s newest iPad, Cupertino is going for the jugular.

Last November, analysts wondered whether anyone would buy the Surface Pro, Microsoft's $899 Windows 8 tablet priced similarly to a standard ultrabook.

Unfocused Announcements From Microsoft

On Tuesday, Microsoft unveiled its latest incentive: three "special edition" Touch Covers, in red, magenta, and cyan, that Microsoft will sell for $129.99 apiece. Oh, and Microsoft will begin selling the Surface Windows 8 Pro on February 9, 2013.

What in the world is Microsoft doing here?

Unfortunately, the list of announcements Microsoft made on Tuesday are just unrelated scraps: They totally lack focus. There's a shipping date, the special Touch Covers (woo-hoo!), plus a new $69.95 Surface Wedge Mouse, and the fact that the Surface Windows RT will be sold in 13 new European markets. Microsoft also said that the 64GB version of the Surface RT will be sold without the Touch Cover option, allowing users to select whatever cover they choose.

Who's Gonna Buy The Surface Pro?

Corporations are expected to be the primary customers for the $899 Surface Pro (that's $899 for a Surface Pro with Windows 8 and 64GB of flash storage, and $999 for the 128GB version - and that doesn't count the Touch or Type Covers). Sure, at least a few enthusiasts will want to take advantage of the integrated Core i5 processor as well as the backwards compatibility with previous Windows versions. But the Surface Pro's target market has already been addressed by the Surface RT and other third-party convertible tablets and traditional clamshell laptops. Look at it this way, and the limited-edition Touch Covers are akin to putting lipstick on a pig. They simply have no place within a business environment, even accounting for the power of the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend that Microsoft has embraced with the Surface and Surface Pro.

Moreover, you could make the case that a Surface mouse - of any kind - undermines the entire premise of a touchscreen tablet. This isn't exactly true, of course; touch was designed to supplement a mouse and keyboard in many cases. But I suspect that the subtlety will be lost on the potential audience.

Ungainly For A Tablet, But Sleek For An Ultrabook

Like others at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), I had a chance to spend a bit of hands-on time with the Surface Pro tablet. Users who have embraced the Apple iPad Mini and Google Nexus 7 will find the Surface Pro large and ungainly. But, docked, the device replaces a traditional clamshell laptop quite nicely. Performance seemed to be on par with a low- to mid-range notebook, well above what the Surface RT seemed to offer.

In a blog post, Panos Panay, the general manager of Microsoft Surface, praised the response that the Surface RT has received, and the "anticipation and excitement" that customers have for the Surface Windows 8 Pro. But I certainly haven't seen what Panay is talking about.

On Thursday, All Will Be Revealed

This Thursday, Microsoft will announce its results for the fourth calendar quarter, where we'll get a chance to evaluate at least some of the Surface numbers. We'll find out if Microsoft is seeing the sales that it hoped for - or if, as Windows executive Tami Reller has begun implying, the Windows 8 launch will extend over multiple selling seasons, and not just one. Unfortunately  we'll have to wait another quarter to discover how well the Surface Pro is doing. 

2012 was a big year in mobile. We have never seen a year like this where there were so many quality devices from so many disparate suppliers all competing for the interest of consumers and enterprises. What were the best of the best? We rank the top 10 smartphones and tablets below:

1. Samsung Galaxy S III

Samsung pulled off a feat in 2012 that only Apple had previously been able replicate year after year. It released a flagship device that was highly anticipated by both Samsung fanboys and the consumer populace as a whole. While there may not have been any lines at AT&T or Verizon stores the day the Samsung Galaxy S III was released, smartphone enthusiasts indeed waited for the release of the S III with great enthusiasm, and have purchased the smartphone in droves.

Samsung said that it had passed the 30 million sales mark for the Galaxy S III in early November. With the two biggest shopping months of the year in front of it, Samsung will likely be very pleased with how many of its flagship devices have made it into consumers’ hands. 

The smartphone is worthy of the praise. The Galaxy S III has a slick 4.8 screen, a responsive (if sometimes confusing) interface, quality camera and Near Field Communications capabilities. Samsung has worked hard to create a device that not only looks good, but is packed full of features. Consumers have recognized the effort and rewarded Samsung with their loyalty.

• Best Features: Screen size, hardware features, camera. 
• Worst features: Some people complain about the plastic back feeling cheap. TouchWiz skin on top of Android operating system can be cluttered and confusing.

1.a iPhone 5

What? You thought we would let Samsung have the top spot by itself?

Not a chance.

The biggest story of 2012 has been the war between Apple and Samsung. In the courts, on retail shelves, in commercials and media publications, in consumers pockets and in their hearts - the war between Apple and Samsung has been a bitter, if highly entertaining battle all year.

So, in a hat tip to a year dominated by Apple and Samsung, the Samsung Galaxy S III and the iPhone 5 are co-best devices of the year. 

The iPhone 5 is the marvel of industrial design in the smartphone industry. It is hard to quantify this if you have not held one. When you do, your thoughts instantly turn to, “Oh man, this thing is so light, so thin. It is beautiful.”

For any other criticisms that the iPhone 5 can have levied at it, the flagship smartphone from Apple is indeed worthy of aesthetic praise. Apple also finally included LTE in the iPhone 5, increased the screen size, improved the internal hardware and performance all the while keeping a similar degree of battery life to the previous iPhone models. Apple added several important new features in iOS 6 such as Facebook integration, improved Siri functions, PassBook and new camera features. Apple also ditched Google Maps in feature of its own Maps app, what the industry may refer to as a work in progress.

• Best Feature: Size, weight, screen, camera and iOS 6 improvements.
• Worst Feature: No Near Field Communications, something which many people in the mobile payments industry greatly wished for. Maps. 

3. iPad Mini

Apple, a company that normally is shrouded in secrecy, did not do a very good job of keeping its secrets in 2012. By the time the iPhone 5 was released, we had a pretty good idea of what exactly it entailed. Yet, at the end of the year, there was one big question that nobody had really been able to verify: Would Apple really release an iPad Mini?

We expected it during the iPhone 5 announcement. It did not materialize. Apple then announced a surprise product launch at the end of October. This time, it really was the Mini. Apple also came out of left field with a fourth-generation large screen iPad. Nobody saw that coming. 

The Mini is a 7.85-inch tablet that is thin and functional. It does not have the same high-quality display that the original iPad has but it fits a market niche for smaller tablet screen sizes that had come to be dominated by the likes of Amazon’s Fire series of slates and Google’s Nexus 7. The market demanded a smaller, cheaper tablet from and Apple delivered with the Mini.

• Best features: Screen real estate in a smaller tablet form factor, thinness and weight.
• Worst Features: Overall size. It is not quite as easily held as a 7-inch tablet, making it a tweener between the one-handed Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire and the larger tablets like the Microsoft Surface, 9.7-inch iPad and Nexus 10.

4. HTC One X

2012 was a rough year for Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC. It lost ground to Samsung in the Android market, faced injunctions from Apple (and eventually was forced into a patent settlement) and saw consecutive quarters of poor revenue. 

All of this bad news for HTC came despite the fact that it made several of the top smartphones of the year. The One X (and its next iteration the One X+) headline this mini-renaissance from HTC. It is a 4.7-inch smartphone on AT&T that is thin and comfortable, sports a dual-core processor (quad-core for the One X+), quality camera (though behind that of some other smartphones on this list) and a simple yet quality skin with Sense 4. The One X is a smartphone that people take notice of and, sometimes, mistake for a Galaxy S III considering that they are virtually the same exact size. Many Android users prefer HTC’s flagship over the Galaxy S III. 

• Best Feature: Uni-body design, screen size, Sense 4. 
• Worst Feature: As is often the case, a feature can be both a strength and a weakness. The uni-body design also means there is no removable battery for the One X. 

5. Nexus 7

In the fall of 2011, Amazon did something that that no company had been able to do up to that point: effectively compete with Apple’s iPad. Amazon did this by releasing a tablet that severely undercut Apple’s original slate on price while also offering a host of entertainment capabilities. At $199, the Kindle Fire was priced to sell.

The problem with the original Kindle Fire is that it was not really a quality device. It used a stripped down version of Android Gingerbread 2.3.6 and ignored many common hardware features that many people would expect. It was boxy and slow, a shadow of its iPad competition.

Google was paying attention. If Amazon proved the market for a cheap 7-inch tablet, Google moved to perfect it. The result? The Nexus 7, a good quality 7-inch tablet announced in June and shipped in July that is perhaps the best tablet you can find at its price. It is a Nexus device, which means it is a flagship for the newest version of Android and a template that other manufacturers can work upon. It is thin but sturdy, features a front-end camera and quality set of hardware, satiating consumers looking for an iPad alternative at a fraction of the price. 

Best Features: Form factor (thin build plus screen size), Android Jelly Bean.

Worst Features: Does not meet the iPad on battery life, screen resolution and durability.

See Also:

• An iPad-Toting Mom Reviews the Google Nexus 7
• The Android Nexus 7 Tablet (and Jelly Bean) Explained
• Google's New Nexus 7 Tablet Gives Android an Instant Boost
• Google Nexus 7 Makes Amazon Kindle Fire Irrelevant

6. Kindle Fire HD 8.9

Kindle Fire by Amazon

Given the success of the original Kindle Fire, people anxiously looked towards the 2012 refresh of Amazon’s tablets. In turn, Amazon pleased its fans by releasing not one but two new Fires this year. Both were significant upgrades over the original. 

The most significant upgrade for the Fire line was the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD. Amazon included much of what was missing in the original Fire, including a higher quality screen, a front-facing camera, a dual-core processor and a better graphics processor. The 8.9-inch version (Amazon also released an upgrade for the 7-inch Fire) is big enough that it will please consumers looking for larger tablets at cheap prices but small enough to not seem overly awkward. The Fire still runs off a derivation of Android and sports easy access to all of Amazon’s media properties such as books, movies, TV shows and music. 

• Best Feature: Amazon media services.
• Worst Feature: The handicapping of Android. Amazon does not let users download apps from Google Play, instead forcing them to the Amazon Appstore for Android. That also means that Google services like a native Gmail app, Google Maps, Chrome for Android and others are missing, replaced by inferior Amazon products. 

See Also:

• What The Kindle Fire Says About Amazon's Whispered Phone
• A Close-Up Look At Amazon’s New Kindles

7. Samsung Galaxy Note II

You have to give credit to Samsung for thinking big. 

Really big.

The Note II is the next iteration of its “phablet” smartphone/tablet that employs the embedded S Pen stylus. It is a 5.55-inch smartphone made for the large of hand or those who want a small tablet that can make real phone calls. Samsung, one of the few companies in the world that can pull off multiple flagship devices, believes that the Note II is the pinnacle of innovation from all the disparate devices that the company produces. The Note II improves on TouchWiz of the Galaxy S III, provides a plethora of “S” apps (like Notes and entertainment) and finds creative uses for the stylus (which also saw significant improvement from the original Note). The Note II is not for everybody, but it has a lot to like.

• Best Feature: S Pen. Improved camera and gallery software. 
• Worst Feature: The size can be odd and awkward unless you are in the market for an extremely large smartphone. Limited apps for the S Pen.

 8. Microsoft Surface

It took a long time, but Microsoft finally came to market with an iPad competitor. The Surface runs Windows 8 and retails for $499 to start and, according to the commercials for it, is highly recommended to be used with an attachable keyboard. 

The Surface makes this list as much as homage to Microsoft finally hitting the tablet market as it does for being a quality device. The Surface is the type of device that Microsoft hopes can spur the adoption of Windows 8, create momentum for a dedicated hardware division and show the world that Microsoft will not be ignored in tablet industry. 

• Best Feature: Windows 8.
• Worst Feature: Windows 8. 

 See Also:

• Microsoft Surface Review: The Best… Something
• Was Microsoft's Surface A Mistake? Of Course Not
• Microsoft Surface RT Reviews Are In - And They're Mostly Mediocre
• Hands On with Microsoft’s New Surface Tablet
• Microsoft Surface vs. Apple iPad: Head To Head Comparison [Video]

9. Nexus 4

When Google announced the Nexus 7 at its I/O in June, many people figured that the flagship Android device for 2012 would be a tablet, not a smartphone. 

Well, that turned out not to be the case.

In October, Google announced three more Nexus devices to go with the update to Android 4.2 Jelly Bean: the Nexus 4 by LG, updated Nexus 7 by Asus and a larger tablet, the Nexus 10 by Samsung. Of these, the Nexus 4 is the device that should excite Android fans the most. It is a 4.7-inch smartphone with a 1280x768 resolution that rivals the iPhone’s Retina display. It has a quad-core processor, one of the first in a smartphone in the United States and can be used with a wireless charger. Android fans like pure power and the Nexus 4 has that, in spades. 

• Best Feature: Quad-core processor, Android Jelly Bean 4.2.
• Worst Feature: Lack of 4G LTE. The Nexus 4 instead uses the “advanced 3G” standard HSPA+.

See Also:

• Google's Nexus 4: If You Like Huge Android Phones, You'll Love This One
• Google's New Nexus Line Challenges Apple On All Fronts

10. Nokia Lumia 920

Nokia, like Samsung, is trying to think differently. Too bad that the interface of Windows Phone does not leave much room for creativity because there are several fine aspects of the Lumia 920 that can be commended. Nokia has one of the most progressive approaches to NFC of any other mobile manufacturer with speakers and headphones that can transfer music playing on the smartphone to the other device and back. Nokia also is one of the first major manufacturers to go all in on wireless charging. The Lumia 920 boasts one of the best cameras in the smartphone market with superior optics and software. 

The Lumia 920 comes with a 4.5-inch screen in a variety of colors. It may be a touch heavier than many consumers are used to (especially if you just held an iPhone 5) but that does not necessarily take away from its usefulness. 

• Best Feature: NFC capabilities, wireless charging, camera. 
• Worst Feature: Size and weight. 

The ReadWrite DeathWatch is known for serving up plenty of doom, gloom and grumpiness. But for the Holiday Season, we're taking a slightly different tack - highlighting companies and technologies that Cheated Death. Companies that might have died, but didn't.

At the plate this week is ARM Holdings, a company that was never going to go out of business, but very well might have settled for a comfortable position in a single market. Instead, it built on the low-power processing that gave it dominion over all things mobile, and now it's poised to attack Intel on the chip giant's own turf.

Where ARM Was

From its founding in 1990, Advanced RISC Machines (later changed to ARM Holdings) was a different kind of processor company. Unlike fellow chip designers IBM and Intel, ARM didn't actually manufacture or sell the chips it created. Instead, like (pre-Nexus) Google and (pre-Surface, pre-XBox) Microsoft, ARM licensed its designs and its relationships with foundries to semiconductor companies. It even

Where ARM Is Now

ARM technology powers more than 90% of cell phones and 80% of digital cameras. It has a less-dominant but still substantial position in embedded devices, such as toasters, TVs, pacemakers and everything else in the Internet Of Things.

And then there are the tablets. The iPad uses an ARM chip. So do the Samsung Galaxy Tab, the Kindle Fire and the Google Nexus. Even Microsoft hedged its bets with the Surface RT, the lower-cost, lower-power sibling to the Intel-based Surface Pro. Theres a war going on, and ARM is selling everyone guns. If a device doesn't have a keyboard, there's probably an ARM design inside.

New Platforms

It's good to be king, but where do you go once you've cornered a market? You find another market. Instead of resting on its laurels and waiting for its lead to erode, ARM has spent the last year recruiting allies that bring the fight to Intel's doorstep.

While the Surface RT got less-than-glowing reviews, Microsoft's tentative support could eventually lead to more head-to-head competition for Windows devices.

There's also been talk of a shift toward ARM-based Macs, though you shouldn't hold your breath. Consumer Macs and Windows PCs are both on the long-term horizon, particularly in the ultraportable market, but power-gulping Intel chips still outperform ARM by a wide margin, and performance is still important for many computing applications. Surprisingly, then, the far more likely near-term expansion for ARM is in the datacenter.

March Of The Wimps

According to a Gartner report, energy accounts for 12% of all datacenter expenditures, and that percentage is growing. Huge arrays of low-power, cooler-running chips are a natural fit, and ARM's minions are rushing to own the microserver market. Samsung has licensed ARM's 64-bit server chip designs for a 2014 release, and struggling AMD is pinning much of its recovery hopes to ARM-based Opteron chips the same year.

Can ARM Stay On Top?

Intel sees the opportunity in mobile and embedded devices, and it haven't conceded anything. It continues to push its low-voltage Atom processors toward those markets, and its 14nm Airmont chip (also scheduled for a 2014 launch) could be very competitive. Intel also claims to be focused on the microserver market, though that may be causing some internal conflict.

One way or another, ARM will likely lose at least some of its mobile and tablet market share to Intel. The question is where. An Apple move on the iPad or iPhone would be surprising, as would a Samsung defection on anything running Android. Intel's immediate fortunes in the space are probably tied to Microsoft, as always.

Meanwhile, any losses ARM suffers to Intel in its core markets should be more than offset by the overall rising tide and ARM's potential to attack Intel's core strengths.

To see more ReadWrite DeathWatches, check out the ReadWrite DeathWatch Series, which collects them all, the most recent first.

Microsoft has priced its Surface Pro Windows 8 tablet, due in January, at about the same level as an ultrabook - only without that pesky keyboard.

In a blog post, Microsoft Surface chief Panos Panay revealed the price: $899 for a Surface Pro with Windows 8 and 64GB of flash storage, and $999 for the 128GB version. That's consistent with what Microsoft indicated at the Surface launch this past summer: that the Surface RT would be priced on par with rival tablets, and that the Surface Pro, which includes an Intel Core processor like the ones used by the majority of PCs and uses a standard version of the Windows 8 operating system, would be priced comparably with an ultrabook.

There's a minor gotcha, though: While each Surface Pro version will include the new Surface Pen stylus, they won't include either a Touch Cover or Type Cover, meaning that users will have to shell out an additional $119 for the Touch Cover or $129 for the Type Cover with the more fully-formed keyboard. Users can also buy (or may already own) a third-party Bluetooth keyboard.

For reference, the Microsoft Surface RT with 32GB of storage without a cover was priced at $499, while adding a Touch Cover bumped it to $599. The 64GB version of the Windows RT Surface, with a black Touch Cover, is $699. That was slightly less the Apple iPad with the Retina Display, which costs $499 for a 16GB version, and $599 for a 32GB model. Both cost more than a number of Android tablets, however.

Surface Pro Is A Keyboard-Less Ultrabook

But when you think about the Surface Pro, you need to think about ultrabooks as much as tablets. From a specifications perspective, the Surface Pro compares well to a notebook: It has a Intel Core i5 processor, which gives a graphics boost to the Surface Pro's 10.6-inch, 16:9 ClearType touchscreen running at 1920 x 1080 resolution. It also includes a Mini DisplayPort to drive an external display up to 2560 x 1440 resolution, plus Bluetooth and a full-size USB 3.0 port.

Oddly enough, the Swedish site Webhallen took a lot of heat earlier this year for publishing what it thought would be the expected price of the Surface Pro: just over $800, with other models priced significantly higher. And you know - it turns out they were right on the money.

"It’s clear with the Surface Pro pricing Microsoft is targeting notebooks, not tablets," Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst with Moor Insights, said in an email to ReadWrite. "Very few people will pay $899 for a tablet but they will for a notebook. The Surface Pro with the Type Cover makes a very nice compact and light solution."

"I’ve given up on having Surface RT compete with an iPad," Moorhead added. "To do that, it would need to be priced at $699.  But it isn’t. Therefore, I am looking at it through the new lens of a notebook. Microsoft won’t sell nearly as many at $899 as they would at $699, and overall, they won’t sell many." 

That means that our earlier analysis is still in play. Sarah Rotman Epps, a consumer and mobile analyst for Forrester Research, said in July that Microsoft could be worried about competing with its manufacturing partners like Asus or Dell. One way to avoid that problem, she said, would be to price the Surface high enough to avoid direct competition.

“Keeping the price point of the Surface high limits the threat to Microsoft’s OEM [original equipment manufacturing] partners,” Rotman Epps said. “At a $1,000 price point, this won’t be a mass market product, but it will still have the desired effect of exciting consumers and inspiring OEMs to do more with hardware design for Windows 8.”

The Case For The Surface Pro

Earlier this year, I made the case for the Surface Pro as the ultimate business tablet. The Surface Pro has little competition in that arena. The iPad is being used in some corporate environments, but what pressure both might have felt from specifically business-oriented products like the Cisco Cius and RIM PlayBook have largely evaporated.

While I didn't know the price at the time, that's largely immaterial: Once you start aligning a product with corporate budgets, products begin to be measured less on price than on feature sets, especially as the value of the employee using it increases. The included digitizer pen will also satisfy content creators and other creative types; the tablet includes a "Palm Block" technology that will allow users to rest their hands on the tablet.

The most important aspect of the Surface Pro is its ability to run Windows; my recent trip to Dubai to explore Windows 8 applications revealed that yes, companies are developing apps for Windows 8, and some are using Windows RT. But it simply costs less to develop an app for one Windows platform, especially where legacy, Windows 7-era apps are involved.

The question, of course, is whether or not Microsoft truly wants to sell its own tablets, clear out space for its hardware partners or essentialy offer another premioum service in the vein of the Microsoft Signature experience, where the company will sell you a notebook free of the third-party bloatware that hardware partners often load.

NPD released some unsettling news on Thursday: Third-party Windows 8 tablets are virtually non-existent at 1% of all retail sales from mid-October to mid-November, and Windows device sales are down 21% overall from a year ago (see Is Windows 8 Winning? Microsoft Say Yes; Data Say No). A super-expensive Surface Pro won't help those numbers. But if companies are looking for a Windows 8 tablet for professional use, the Surface Pro will still likely be their number one choice.

After spending the weekend checking out the Microsoft Surface with Windows RT, it's clearly the best … the best … the best … something. I’m just not sure exactly what. Maybe the best not-quite-iPad-ultralight-laptop-wannabe ever made. And I mean that in the nicest possible way.

One of the key goals for Microsoft’s Window 8 operating system is to blur the lines between computers and tablets, and the new Surface certainly does that. So well, in fact, that I’m not quite sure exactly how the darn thing fits into either category. In essence, it's some weird hybrid trying to establish its own niche.

What makes the situation even more confusing, is that this Surface uses Windows RT, an oddball version of full Windows 8 for the low-power ARM chips commonly used in tablets. The Surface with Windows 8 Pro, which Microsoft isn't talking about much these days, will have the real Windows 8. The RT version is like Windows 8 but without the traditional Windows part –- there’s no desktop and it doesn’t run standard Windows programs without modification. And you can get RT apps only from the new Microsoft Store.

Tablet First

That makes this Surface a lot more like a tablet. So let’s look at it in tablet terms, at least to start with.

The $499 base model is pretty darn tablety. Weighing 1.5 pounds and holding a 10.6-inch 16:9 widescreen ad 32GB of storage, its specs say tablet pretty clearly.

The magnesium case is kind of square and boxy, but well made and solid feeling. It's nice enough to hold, but there are too many ports and connectors and sharp edges to be as sexy as an iPad. The built-in kickstand is a nice touch, but doesn’t really work well on your lap –- it turns out the Surface needs a surface to sit on!

As I’ve said before, I really like the Windows 8 interface on smaller devices. It’s significantly different than the iOS/Android approach, and many of its innovations make perfect sense on these small touch-screen devices.

The problem, as just about every observer has pointed out, is that there simply aren’t all that many Windows RT apps available yet. It does come with pre-installed special versions of Microsoft Office, which is nice, but that's about it.

That means you’ll be relying on your browser a lot, and fortunately the included IE10 browser is plenty nice indeed. I especially liked the default full-screen view, which maximized the available real estate –- as well as putting the address bar at the bottom of the screen. That makes it easier to reach when using the touch screen. A nice touch.

Overall, the Surface's snappy performance seems pretty comparable to the latest iPads. I never felt like I was waiting for things to happen, and all the side-to-side scrolling that Windows 8 requires was fast and fluid.

But if the Surface is going to live or die purely as an iPad competitor, it's facing an uphill climb. It's not cheaper, and its apps deficit is crippling.

Microsoft Surface and Touch Cover and Type Cover.

Wannabe Laptop?

Instead, the Surface is all about being a tablet that also brings some of the advantages of a laptop. And key to that strategy are the two attachable keyboard options.

I was able to try them both (I wrote half of this story on one, the other half on the other), and they too have a bit of split personality…

Both keyboards include a small touchpad at the bottom, so you don’t have to reach for the touch screen to move the cursor every time. That’s a nice touch.

The $119 Touch Cover gives the Surface a bit more content-creation capability, wihout adding too much bulk. But in my tests, I made many more typing mistakes than normal (and I make a lot of errors on even the best keyboards). The flat keys don’t travel, so you can’t really tell where you fingers are going. It's way too easy to to miss keys entirely or accidentally hit a neighboring key. At least it doesn't cover up a big chunk of the screen like software keyboards do.

Switching to the $129 Type Cover keyboard improved my typing with real key travel and separate keys. It’s the recommended version for serious writing tasks. But the Type Cover is also bigger and and thicker than the Touch Cover. Which makes the Surface more like a laptop. And it's still not as good as the keyboard on a decent laptop.

I gotta tell you, for real work, I still think a laptop is the way to go. The Windows RT version of Surface can’t run Windows programs and is noticeably slower than a real laptop.

It’s also a bit more awkward to use. The magnetic hinge/connector that attaches the keyboards is pretty slick, but it doesn’t have the structural integrity to actually hold anything in place. The kickstand set up works pretty well on a hard surface, but is unstable on your lap. Laptops may not be as portable as the Surface, but they may be usable in more situations –- at least for content creation.

What's The Surface For?

Sure it’s cheaper, and lighter than those devices, with much better battery life. But I just don’t think it could replace my laptop. So at that point I might be happier with a laptop and separate tablet.

That doesn’t leave a very broad use case for the Surface with Windows RT. It could be a third device, along with your laptop and pure tablet, for when you might want to do a little work but don’t want to carry the big old laptop just in case.

I still haven’t got my mitts on a Surface Pro (few have). But I’m hopeful that it will do a better job of being both a laptop and a tablet. Even though it's heavier, and its more powerful chip will likely trim battery life, it should come closer to being a laptop replacement – with a higher-res screen, 64GB of storage, included pen input, and most important, the abilty to run all your Windows programs.

But will it be flexible and portable enough to be a viable player in the tablet competition? We won’t know till next year. So while the Surface With Windows RT wouldn't be a must buy for me, I’ll withhold my final Surface judgements till then…

Photos by Eliot Weisberg for ReadWrite.

ReadWrite pits the Microsoft Surface with Windows RT against the third-generation New iPad. We try 5 standard tasks to see which machine is faster:

1. Loading a website
2. Downloading an app
3. Typing a sentence
4. Opening the camera and snapping a picture
5. Running and viewing multiple apps at once.

Watch the video to see which machine wins!

Microsoft’s first Surface tablet with Windows RT has been released at a price that’s substantially higher than competing Android tablets, so Microsoft’s hardware partners have decided to ... sell it for more?

Both Asus' VivoTab RT and Dell's XPS 10 will be priced equal to or higher than the Surface with Windows RT, which has been priced at $499 (or $599 with a Touch Cover).

The VivoTab RT is only sold with a keyboard, for $599. Dell's XPS 10 starts at $499, but rises to $679 with a keyboard dock.

At least one analyst is already saying that the Surface RT is too expensive. And even though early reviews of the Surface RT are unenthusiastic, demand is robust. Right now, the wait for a basic, $499, version ships is two to three weeks, according to a note on Microsoft's Store page. The wait for Dell’s 32-GB and 64-GB XPS 10's, with or without a keyboard, reaches to Dec. 7, according to Dell’s order page. 

The Surface tablet represents a break Microsoft's standard operating procedure. That is, the company usually develops an operating system that it sells to partners who install it in their hardware. Microsoft's entry into the tablet hardware has rankled partners like Acer, which so far has yet to build a Windows RT tablet.

HP also hasn't released a Windows RT tablet, although a version running Windows 8, the Envy X2, is available for $850. HP chief executive Meg Whitman criticized Microsoft's Surface at a Gartner conference Wednesday, claiming it "lacks a keyboard you can do real work on."

The selling point of both tablets appears to be the keyboard dock, which doubles as a battery; Microsoft’s Touch Cover and Type Cover both lack a battery. Asus says the dock, which includes a keyboard, touchpad, and an integrated battery that adds about eight hours, to a total of 18 hours, of power.

The Surface RT won’t compete directly with mass-market Android tablets like the $299, 8.9-inch Amazon Kindle Fire HD (Wi-Fi) or the $249, seven-inch Google Nexus 7 (16 GB). The Surface RT's significantly larger 10.6-inch ClearType (1366-by-768-pixel) display sees to that.

While ignoring mass-market appeals for the Surface RT, Microsoft is still positioning the device, by degree, as more of a consumer product than a business tool. Microsoft's original-equipment-manufacturing partners have responded by marketing their own Windows tablets more for business use.

Business, Battery Scratch the Surface

Dell emphasizes the business features of its XPS 10 including security features like SecureBoot and firmware Trusted Platform Module.

Dell representatives said that its keyboard dock contained two USB ports, an HDMI port stereo speakers, and an auxiliary battery. Dell also said that its keyboard dock enables people to work in clamshell mode, away from a tablet or flat surface -- a shot, deliberate or not, at the Surface RT’s fixed kickstand.

Asus is differentiating itself with a 4G model from AT&T; the Surface RT is Wi-Fi only. The firm is still withholding pricing, though an Asus representative said in email that the market will bear an additional $100 for a full keyboard and trackpad plus an additional six or seven hours of battery and connectivity ports,” 

Bob O’Donnell, an analyst with International Data Corp., suggested that price won't be a clear differentiating point for RT and Adndroid devices. 

“It's going to boil down to design and brand preferences," O’Donnell said. Features will be significant too, but so will be availability and convenience.

"The Surface is going to be harder to find," he said, because it will only be sold in Microsoft retail stores.

As Microsoft prepares to roll out Windows 8 on Friday, the first reviews of the company's Surface tablet with Windows RT are now going public. And reactions are middling at best.

With just one exception, the numerous reviews released on Tuesday night gave middling scores to Microsoft’s Windows RT tablet, first announced in June in Los Angeles.

The Surface Hardware Rocks

The good news, if you already pre-ordered your Windows RT tablet - against our advice - reviewers generally praised the quality of the hardware. Yes, The Verge called the Surface “bulky,” the exact word I used to describe it in my hands-on earlier this year. However, the site also complimented it as sturdy and well-made, even though the kickstand can only lock to one position and feels sharp, to boot.

But, as analysts said earlier this year, apps will make or break Windows RT - and right now there simply isn't a good supply of quality apps available. Probably the highest-profile app right now is Netflix; after that, the quality drops off sharply.

To give you a sense of what folks are saying, we’ve rounded up the conclusions of many of the reviews of the new Surface RT tablet, complete with scores and links back to the details:

Laptop Magazine: 3.5/5

Laptop liked the Surface's hardware design, including the Touch Cover and display, but criticized the poor camera performance and placement. And where are the apps?

“The Surface with Windows RT proves that Microsoft can beat its own partners on hardware… Between the build quality, kickstand, and truly innovative Touch Cover, this is a tablet whose design and fresh interface will turn heads away from the iPad. But… for a flagship product with a premium price, Microsoft compromises on too many things by including poor cameras, weak speakers, slow internal memory and a screen that, while better than most, isn't as good as the iPad's Retina display.”

“Ultimately, the Surface will succeed or fail based on the quality of the apps around it… $599 (the minimum cost with Touch Cover) is a lot to spend on a fledgling ecosystem. However, with the power of Microsoft and Nvidia behind it, we believe we will see more compelling apps for Windows RT arrive within the next few weeks.”

PC World: 3.5/5

PCWorld praised the Surface with Windows RT’s battery life, along with build quality that's “sturdy and confident, and exudes the same kind of austere precision we find in German performance cars”. But battery life and display quality couldn't match the iPad and lack of apps is an issue. But mostly, it said that Windows RT wasn't the best choice.

“Surface RT definitely covers the bases on the industrial-design front. When you set up your workstation at the local café — kickstand kicked, Type Cover snapped — your hardware will strike a pose unlike any other in the tablet space… And in many important ways, Surface RT does successfully redefine what a tablet can be. Its touch gestures rock (once you surmount the learning curve), and its built-in productivity features eclipse anything that the iPad or the Android competition offers.”

“But Surface RT may not be the best new Windows device to purchase in the short term, and Windows RT definitely isn't the version of Windows you want to invest in. [Full-scale Windows 8] devices won't be quite as portable as Surface RT, and they'll almost always cost more. But they will grant access to the full Windows software experience.”

PCMag.com: 4/5

PCMag liked the Surface's numerous hardware connectivity options, such as the (hidden) SDXC slot and micro-HDMI port. But the speakers don't crank, and the kickstand only opens to one angle. (For comparison, check out the site’s Asus Vivo Tab RT review.)

“In terms of its hardware and operating system, the Microsoft Surface with Windows RT is a very good product. It's very light, and powerful enough to run a version of Windows, so it's very attractive to Windows early adopters as well as business users who have plans to migrate to Windows 8. It's powerful enough to be a daily carry device for work, always with you on your commute across the state or across the country. It shares some programs and its main interface with Windows 8, which is a boon, provided you get used to using the new Windows UI.

“So should you buy a Microsoft Surface instead of an iPad or Android tablet? If you use Microsoft Office for work or school, then it's a no-brainer: Get a Microsoft Surface (or one of the other upcoming Windows RT tablets)... If you use Office programs constantly, the Surface is the tablet and laptop replacement your inner road warrior has been searching for. [But] discounting Office, the Windows Store's limited selection holds us back from giving the Surface an unequivocal recommendation.”

Gizmodo: 2.5/5

Gizmodo praised the Surface with Windows RT as a “handsome” tablet, but claimed that “while potential is worth your attention, it's not worth your paycheck.”

“The Surface, with an obligatory Touch Cover, is $600. That's a lot of money. Especially given that it's no laptop replacement, no matter how it looks or what Microsoft says.”

“That could change,” Gizmodo added. “Maybe there will be a new Touch Cover that retains the original's terrific physical qualities while actually allowing good typing… Maybe the app store will look different in a month, or a year… Maybe.”

Mashable: (no score)

Undoubtedly the most positive review - despite the lack of a numerical score - Mashable claims that the Surface will be the “tablet Windows users will love.” The site praised the interface, optimized for media consumption, and really liked the SmartGlass application. The Metro interface was natural and fun to use, but the Window Store lacked quality apps.

“Surface is so different from any tablet I’ve used before that it took me a few fays to fully warm to it, but now I like it — quite a bit… Part of this is because I am a Windows user with a Hotmail account and Xbox Live at home. This is a Microsoft ecosystem and the Surface fits it like a glove… I also like that files I store on SkyDrive are available on all my other logged-in devices (this can work on an iPhone or iPad, too, since SkyDrive has an iOS app).

“There’s no doubt that Surface will appeal most to Windows users,” Mashable added. “In fact this is the tablet for Windows fans. It won’t win over Apple iPad owners, but for all those who hate Apple, find Android confusing and underwhelming, and are ready to enter the world of touch-screen computing this is the alternative you’ve been waiting for.”

The Verge: 7.5/10

The Verge’s extensive review delves into almost all aspects of the tablet, but reviewer Josh Topolsky comes away disappointed.

“I wanted to love the Surface when I first saw it, before I even got my hands on the review unit... Once I did get the review unit, I wanted to love it even more. And truth be told, there is a lot here to love. Plenty — but not enough for me right now.”

“The promise of the Surface was that it could deliver a best-in-class tablet experience, but then transform into the PC you needed when heavier lifting was required… But that's not what the Surface offers, at least not in my experience. It does the job of a tablet and the job of a laptop half as well as other devices on the market, and it often makes that job harder, not easier. Instead of being a no-compromise device, it often feels like a more-compromise one.”