Microsoft's much-anticipated updated to Windows 8 will be free, will be called Windows 8.1 and will be out "later this year."

All this news came on Tuesday when Tami Reller, the CMO and CFO of Microsoft's Windows Division, addressed JP Morgan's Technology, Media & Telecom Conference. Reller wouldn't commit to a launch date, but promised a public preview edition when Microsoft's Build 2013 developers conference opens on June 26.  Some reports interpreted Reller's remarks to hint at a full release around the Holidays.

Windows 8.1 will work on both Windows 8 and Windows RT, the version of the operating system that runs on ARM processors. 

See also:

• Microsoft Is Trying To Build - And Sell - A kinder, Gentler Windows 8
• Windows Blue's Goal: You Will Love Metro (Eventually)

Tami Reller image is from an earlier Microsoft event.

2013 will be a make-or-break year for Microsoft. Not so much from a financial standpoint, but for how the company is perceived.

Traditionally, Microsoft has built itself around the PC, anchoring itself by its core operating systems: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and now Windows 8. But in the last few years, Microsoft’s Server and Tools division has generated the highest revenue and profits in the company, followed by the traditional pillars of the company, Windows and Business Tools, or Office.

How will Microsoft fare in 2013? Financially and overall, just fine. But be on the lookout for softness in the company's traditional businesses as Microsoft evolves into a services company.

Windows 8: A Mild Flop

Any Microsoft predictions need to start with Windows 8. So let’s get this out of the way: Windows 8 will flop in 2013.

Not hard - the new operating system probably shouldn’t be compared to the catastrophe that was Windows Vista. But Windows 8 will likely be seen as overly ambitious, a risk that many potential customers won't be willing to take. In all, though, Windows 8 will sell slightly fewer copies than Windows 7 during 2013.

That’s not because Windows 8 is bad. It isn’t. To its credit, the new OS hasn’t been plagued with the sort of slowdowns and crashes and user interface mistakes that afflicted Vista. 

But the break from previous version is sharp. Windows 8 doesn’t launch to the desktop, the most familiar interface (and - perhaps to speed the transition to the new user interface - Microsoft is refusing to let users configure it to go direct to the old-style desktop). Years of interacting with smartphones and tablets have taught users how to navigate the Metro interface, and swiping left and right along the main Start screen is easily understood. But most consumers don’t quite seem to get what they need to do when they want to “work,” i.e. use the desktop. The back-and-forth between the desktop and the Start menu, the navigation between apps, the lack of a traditional Start button and other interface changes will frustrate users. Unlike Michael Dell, I see a significant chunk of enterprises still choosing to standardize on Windows 7. 

Typically, Microsoft halts sales of the previous operating system two years after the new version goes on sale, which would mean that Windows 7 would fade away in Oct. 2014. (Windows 7 mainstream support will expire in January 2015.) I think we might see a “toned-down,” more transitional edition/service pack of either Windows 8 (or 9?) that will help consumers shift over to the new OS. 

Basically, what consumers will accept is a Windows 8 tablet interface on top of a Windows 7 desktop environment. They don't have it. Yet.

Surface: A Nice Idea, But...

If Microsoft could deliver a full-fledged Windows 8 experience at the $500 price point of the Surface RT, the company would sell a ton of its new tablets. So far, it's not even trying - the Surface Pro starts at $900.

Windows tablets - from Microsoft or others - will be lumped together with Windows Phone: lovely experience, but without the variety of apps that users are used to on the leading platforms. Sorry, but developers are going to support Android and iOS first, and then maybe Windows and BlackBerry. That leaves Web apps as the saving grace.

In that environment, Surface will survive, but not thrive. Windows tablets from other manufacturers will barely survive. Expect some hardware makers to try a consumption-oriented “Surface Mini” form factor, though, with modest success.

Traditional clamshell laptop form factors will still be the most popular for business, with convertible/detachable hybrid tablet/laptops making headway among consumers. That means it's hard to see a sweet spot for the Surface Pro to catch on.

Finally, Touchscreens will become a standard necessity very quickly. Logitech and other peripheral manufacturers are in trouble. 

Server Tools and Office: Under Pressure, But Still Dominant

At this point, most people use Office because they use Office. It’s a habit. Most consumers don’t really need Office for basic Word processing, but there’s always just a bit of formatting that the free alternatives can’t manage. Businesses, meanwhile, have made Word, Excel and PowerPoint into staples of everyday business life.

There’s no reason any of that will change in 2013. Office for Windows RT and Surface remains one of the compelling selling points for the platform. And, revenue concerns or not, it makes perfect sense for Microsoft to ship Office for the iPad and the Mac. So it no doubt will do just that. It’s in Microsoft’s best interest to keep its .DOC, .PPT, and .XLS formats (and their XML equivalents) front of mind for most of the Web’s population.

It’s also difficult to see Microsoft’s Server and Tools business disintegrating. This has been one of the company’s most stable businesses, and should continue to be so for years to come.

Xbox: The Top Dog’s Getting Long In The Tooth

Will there be an “Xbox 720” by Christmas 2013? Hard to say. But with each passing year (the Xbox turns seven in 2013) the possibility becomes more and more likely. 

Either way, the Xbox is becoming even more important to Microsoft. The Xbox’s function (as a games console) has evolved into an entertainment console. I think we’ll probably see that recognized as a rebranded “Arcade” version, reimagined as a sort of beefed-up Roku. Cloud services remove much of the need for local storage, but the Kinect provides a compelling user interface as well a gaming controller. Microsoft could strip out cost from Kinect, possibly making it audio-only. I think a stripped-down Kinect Arcade bundle is likely.

Kinect for Windows, though a fascinating idea, probably doesn’t as make as much sense, given Windows 8's a touchscreen interface. In general, however, Microsoft will have to stumble badly to allow Sony, Nintendo or others back into the console game. 

Windows Phone: We’re Number Three!

Great product, nice interface, solid hardware. Count me in the camp of people who admire what Microsoft’s done in the smartphone arena. But there’s no way Microsoft unseats either Android or iOS. Instead, Microsoft should hope to become the third option - outpacing RIM's upcoming BlackBerry 10.

Will it? Probably, over time. In the United States, BlackBerry and Symbian are dead ducks.

Microsoft Online: Bing, IE Gain Respectability

It’s probably fairer to say that Microsoft’s online services have already gained respectability, and will continue driving forward in 2013. Bing’s home page is still one of the most attractive sites on the Web, and if people were forced to visit it for every search it would do even better. They're not forced to do that, of course, and Bing continues to trail Google by a large margin.

If that's going to change in 2013, the boost will come from Windows 8. In the new operating system, Mozilla’s Firefox and Google’s Chrome are unwelcome guests, rather than a fundamental part of the OS. And integrating Bing - which has diverged into its own ecosystem, rather than follow Google - will help Microsoft gain share in search. Whether or not Internet Explorer is truly the most popular browser varies by which analyst firm you ask, but IE10 will definitely help grow Microsoft’s presence online.

The tougher question is whether Microsoft’s online division turn a profit in 2013? The answer is No. It will come closer, but that milestone will have to wait.

All the changes should work together to benefit Microsoft’s online ecosystem. The company has brought together a suite of products, from Skype to Microsoft’s Office Web Apps, that can all be tied together. How well Microsoft can monetize them, however, is anyone’s guess.

Put it all together, and 2013 is the year Microsoft doubles down on its pivot away from being a software supplier to being a services provider.

Expect some softness in Windows sales, but continued strength in back-end tools and services. How this all plays out will determine whether 2013 ends with a very different Microsoft perceived as a newly revitalized dominant player or a reeling giant struggling to regain relevance. 

As Microsoft hosts thousands of app developers in Redmond for its BUILD developers conference, the question needs to be raised: How badly does Microsoft need dedicated apps? More specifically, how badly does Microsoft need apps for Windows RT?

Microsoft almost certainly needs dedcated Windows 8 and Windows RT very very badly. But there is an alternative. Microsoft hasn’t really suggested this yet, but the Web could be its backup plan.   

How Many Windows Store Apps Are There?

Microsoft seems to be going all out to convince developers that yes, they need to develop apps for the Windows platform. But Microsoft executives didn’t reveal Tuesday how many apps are actually available for Windows 8 and Windows RT, the same omission that Windows chief Steven Sinofsky made at the formal launch of Windows 8. Then, Sinofsky made the claim that the Windows Store would launch with more apps than any competing apps store contained at its opening. But, with the Windows Store open, Microsoft still hasn’t said how many apps are there. (Some have suggested that there are as few as 5,000.)

Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer did, however, say that Microsoft has sold four million Windows 8 licenses to consumers over the last three days, along with tens of millions more to businesses. It’s a good start, but still a small fraction of the installed base of 670 million PCs running Windows 7 that could upgrade to Windows 8.

Different App Needs For Different Windows Platforms?

Microsoft has made the case, over and over, that its hardware and services traverse a continuum of devices, from the desktop to the notebook to the tablet to the phone to the living room. The operating systems that run these devices share common elements and, in some cases, common code; the user interfaces that they all run share a number of common elements. But the attitude toward apps on each platform has differed. 

Take Windows Phone.  At the Windows Phone 8 launch on Monday, Joe Belfiore, the vice president responsible for Windows Phone, said that the Windows Phone app ecosystem  now includes 120,000 apps across 191 countries, including 46 of the top 50 most heavily used apps on other platforms. “That’s huge progress for us,” Belfiore said.

On Tuesday, Microsoft also delivered its Windows Phone 8 software development kit, a real boost for developers hoping to add apps to the Windows Phone 8 platform. A free version of Visual Studio Express 2012 was also released.

At BUILD, Ballmer identified Windows 8 apps like ESPN, which built out a side-scrolling Metro app that offers access to video highlights and podcasts, analysis and additional content, all done within the Metro interface. SAP will offer a Windows 8 app; Twitter will too, along with Dropbox, although those latter apps have yet to be released.

“In case it’s not clear: we’re all in for Windows 8,” Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said at the BUILD conference on Monday. (That comes as consumers remain unsure about the new OS, often preferring Windows 7 or even XP over Windows 8.)

And Ballmer was his typical enthusiastic self. 

Is Windows Really The Best Choice For Developers?

“Microsoft’s Windows 8 is the best opportunity for software developers today,” Ballmer told developers. “Hundreds of millions of people just aching to use your applications, just dying to buy your application. Just dying to become involved with your company on a live, active, searchable basis. I know the folks in this room must be interested, or you wouldn’t be here. But I guarantee that this will be the best opportunity software developers will see as hundreds of millions of machines go out with the potential of billions and billions of new applications being sold. So i really want us to build together. We need your support. We need your commitment. You can count on us to stand behind the product and deliver whatever we can from you to from a developer support perspective.”

But should Microsoft worry that much about the app count? After all, Windows 8 has a whole legacy of Windows 7 apps to build on; even if they don’t necessarily look all Metro-sexual, they at least work. Under the old desktop UI, they should even appear relatively natural. Games, for example, have their own UI, their own fonts, and a legacy of keyboard and mouse controllers (although more support gamepads, as well).

The answer, naturally, is no: Relying too much on Windows 7-style apps lessens the need for customers to upgrade to Windows 8. And developers won’t inevitably gravitate to Windows, like they did just a few years ago: Apple and Google’s own developer ecosystems beckon. Microsoft’s developer terms are generous: developers keep 70% of all revenues, and when an app achieves $25,000 in revenue, that jumps to 80%. But Apple announced this month that it has paid $6.5 billion in cumulative payments to developers. That’s nothing to sneeze at. 

Why Windows RT Is Different

I’d suggest, though, that, Windows RT might be a different story.

Say what you will about Windows RT, one of the key stories surrounding the platform is the lack of third-party apps. Analysts have said that before you make a decision to buy a Windows 8 tablet - and right now, customers seem to prefer the Surface - you’ll need to decide whether or not Windows RT offers the apps you want. 

Websites As RT Apps?

But the notion of apps also brings with it the prejudice that users actually require a dedicated app. Recall the early days of Apple’s iOS: “apps” by major media partners were often just links to websites, some mobile-formatted, others not even that. The number of media players who have announced “apps” for Windows 8 makes me assume at least some are headed in that direction.

But the message behind “apps” like Contre Jour from earlier this year suggests that a well-designed website might be at least a stopgap to any perceived app woes. Recall that Microsoft’s IE10 implementation of Contre Jour eliminates all the navigation tools or scroll bars, taking the HTML5-designed website “out of the browser” and onto the desktop.

That doesn't mean HTML5 is necessarily the right long-term solution from a technical sense; after all, Facebook’s mobile site for iOS recently ditched HTML5 to go native, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has already indicated that a native Android app is in the works, too. It’s also true that apps like Contre Jour don’t magically spring into being, but require their own development.

What I am surprised that I haven’t seen yet is Microsoft playing up its “Beauty of the Web” message to encourage developers to craft Contre Jour-style Web experiences or at least IE10-styled, Metro-ized versions of their websites.  And, of course, users can pin websites to Windows 8’s Start screen, giving them the same status and appearance as an app. It seems like a natural evolution of the company’s messaging.

Over the past few months, I've worked almost exclusively on the Web itself, via the Google Chromebox. Web apps provide a number of alternatives for traditional apps; you just need to look.

I’m not sure I’m ready for a Metro-ized Web. But if the apps pressure grows too strong, I wouldn’t be surprised for Microsoft to make the case that the Web already offers millions of great Windows 8 and Windows RT "apps."

Microsoft has quietly set out to convince consumers that they should buy a Surface tablet now, rather than wait for a Windows 8 version to arrive.

In a way, it’s reminiscent of a line from Ghostbusters: “There is no Dana. Only Zuul.” Likewise, there is no Surface with Windows 8 or Windows RT. There is just Surface. And it happens to run Windows RT at the moment.

Microsoft formally launched the Windows Surface tablet at an event in New York on Thursday afternoon, following the formal launch of Windows 8 earlier in the day. Both products will be sold in the Windows Store and throughout the world on Friday, although the Surface will be available in just eight markets to begin with. The Surface will also compete with Windows RT tablets from Dell and other hardware partners, who said they will emphasize their battery-powered docking stations and other features to differentiate themselves from Microsoft’s offering. 

That should mean that the Surface tablet with Windows 8, which Microsoft touted as a true content-creation device, has yet to arrive. But you’d never know it. In fact, as analyst Bob O’Donnell of IDC noted via Twitter, the Windows 8 version of the Surface tablet, also known as the Surface Pro, wasn’t mentioned. Not even once. I can’t be certain, but Panos Panay, general manager of the Microsoft Surface, may not have mentioned Windows RT at all.

Buy Now, Buy Windows RT

Steven Sinofsky, the general manager for the Windows and Windows Live Division, did, introducing the Surface as the “imagining and reimagining of hardware for Windows RT." The company has built on 21 years of work in the tablet space; Microsoft began experimenting with tablets as much as 21 years ago, when a young, enthusiastic Bill Gates debuted Windows for Pen Computing in conjunction with Windows 3.1 

“The thing that I’m most intrigued by, is what everybody wants to call it,” Sinofsky said. “We think you should just call it Surface. But the idea - is it a laptop, is it a tablet, what column does it go in? - and it sounds like an 18-year-old arguing, is it ska, reggae, punk, whatever. For me, Surface is not just a tablet. It’s actually the best tablet I’ve ever used. It’s also not just a laptop. But it’s also the best laptop I’ve ever used, as well.”

Microsoft representatives confirmed that a Windows 8 version of Surface is still in the works, however. "Surface with Windows Pro has been announced and pricing details and availability will be announced early next year," a spokesman said via email, referring to a Web site that explained the differences between the two.

Microsoft previously announced that the 32GB version of the tablet will cost $499, without the innovative Touch Cover that doubles as a keyboard. Adding a black Touch Cover tacks on an additional $100, bringing the total price to $599. For the 64GB model, customers will need to spend $699, which also includes the Touch Cover. Individual Touch Covers will cost $119.99, while the Type Cover will cost $129.99.

The Surface with Windows RT will measure 10.81 x 6.77 x 0.37 inches and weigh 1.5 pounds, Micorosoft said, It will be encased in an ultra-durable “VaporMg” casing. Inside it will have an Nvidia T30 processor and 2GB of RAM. The tablet will have two 720p cameras, mounted front and rear, and will connect via Wi-Fi (802.11n) only.

Panay’s launch presentation was impassioned and well-received, showing off everything from SmartGlass, or using the Surface as a “second screen” to control an Xbox, as well as the PowerPoint software used to drive the presentation itself. Although the Surface doesn’t quite measure up to the resolution of the “retina display” used by the Apple iPad, Microsoft executives said that they had focused on the contrast of the display, making blacks blacker and whites brighter. Panay also said that the 2x2 MIMO Wi-Fi antenna built into the Surface would offer better Wi-Fi reception than competing tablets.

Finally, Sinofsky appeared on stage to show off a pair of skateboard trucks that the team had attached to the frame itself, to demonstrate its structural integrity. The Surface hardware attracted almost uniform approval in the initial round of reviews. 

After months of anticipation, on Thursday Microsoft officially launched Windows 8, which Windows chief Steven Sinofsky called the “best release of Windows ever." Ironically, Microsoft executives tried to emphasize that Windows 8 wasn’t that different from Windows 7, either. So similar, in fact, that Microsoft didn’t announce a standalone price for Windows 8.

At midnight around the world, Microsoft and its partners will begin selling Windows 8 - through retail, Microsoft’s hardware partners and the Microsoft Store. Users will have two options: either upgrade their existing Windows PCs, or else buy new hardware that has Windows 8 (or its little brother, Windows RT)  pre-installed. A touchscreen-enabled Windows 8 PC will cost as little as $499, an unprecedented low price, executives claimed.

“Windows 8 is a major milestone in the evolution and the revolution of personal computing,” Sinofsky said.

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer also chimed in. “What you’ve seen and heard should leave no doubt that Windows 8 shatters perceptions of what a PC really is,” he told an audience in New York City on Thursday.

Can Windows 8 Top Windows 7?

Still trying to have it both ways, Microsoft opened its launch event by reminding consumers of the success of Windows 7, an extremely popular operating system that consumers will have to decide whether or not to upgrade. “Windows 7 has become the most widely used and widely praised OS ever,” Sinofsky said, with more than 670 million licenses sold to businesses and consumers. In fact, Windows 7 saw the fastest adoption by businesses ever, Sinofsky said.

Nevertheless, “We shunned the incremental,” Sinofsky said of Windows 8. “We boldly reimagined the experience.”

The last time that Microsoft promised such a revamp of the operating system was with Windows Vista, an upgrade from Windows XP that was roundly panned for being bloated and awkward. Obviously mindful of that, Microsoft emphasized the advantages of simply taking a Windows 7 machine and installing Windows 8 on it: battery life improvements of up to 13%, and a reduction of memory usage by 22%. Overall, the Windows experience can be made 45% faster - whatever that means - simply by installing Windows 8, said Microsoft's corporate vice president of the Windows planning, hardware and PC ecosystem, Mike Angiulo.

Already, more than 16 million pre-release installations of Windows 8 have been installed, Microsoft executives said, meaning that computer users have had time to become familiar and to hammer out bugs. In total, the pre-release program and Microsoft’s own work has equated to 1.24 billion hours of pre-release testing, the most of any product ever, according to the company.

Windows 8: Different, But Still The Same

Microsoft also took pains to address the familiarity issue. In a short rundown of Windows 8’s features, Microsoft executives took pains to emphasise, for example, that the Start button might be gone, but that a (hidden) button in the lower left-hand corner, the same default location as Windows 7’s Start button, also hid Windows 8’s application switcher, so that users could easily navigate between applications, as they had before. And although executives showed off the advantages of the Windows UI or “Metro” interface, they also spent time in the traditional desktop mode, which mimics Windows 7.

For example, Julie Larson-Green, corporate vice president of program management for the Windows Experience, who was tasked with reimagining the Windows environment, noted that users could swipe and perform gestures with either a mouse or touchscreen, another nod to the familiar Windows environment and peripherals.

Windows RT, the version of Windows designed for tablets powered by ARM processors, will represent the “Windows experience” on cheaper hardware, executives said. Fifty of the 53 most popular printers work with Windows RT, and most apps sold via the Windows Store will work with RT.

Solid PC Support

More than 1,000 certified PCs will run Windows 8, Microsoft executives said, with Steve Ballmer claiming that hardware partners like Dell, HP, Lenovo and others had created the “best PCs ever made.”

Many will work both as a PC or tablet, Ballmer said. "With Windows 8 we brought together the best of both worlds: the PC and the tablet, your work life and play,” he added.

PC manufacturers used the occasion to disclose the prices of PCs they had previously disclosed; Microsoft, for its part, encouraged consumers to visit the Microsoft Store to get an idea of the breadth and range of prices that those manufacturers offered. 

Apps Still A Question Mark

But Microsoft executives spoke with somewhat less assurance when describing the Windows Store, the central repository for apps for Windows RT, and a key source for apps for Windows 8. Sinofsky called the Windows Store a “grand opening,” but didn’t specify exactly how many apps have been added to the Store, or how many will run Windows RT as well. Executives highlighted apps like UrbanSpoon, for example, which can be shared among users.

Sinofsky did claim, however, that the Windows Store would launch with more apps than any competing apps store contained at its opening.

Web sites can also be pinned to the Start screen, so that Web pages can be somewhat considered apps, executives said. Microsoft’s own apps, powered by Bing, include News, Finance, Maps, Weather, and Sports. Microsoft also recently integrated Skype, which Ballmer called “useful” and “fun”, and an integral part of the OS. 

Microsoft also tied its Xbox gaming console with Smartglass, the Windows 8 tablet app that can be used to control and order movies to be played back on the user’s TV screen. Windows Phone 8, which will be formally unveiled on Monday, will also share the user’s data in the “live tile” interface used by Windows 8.

Microsoft - And The PC Industry - Banking On Windows 8

What’s clear, though, is Microsoft needs a hit. IDC and Gartner reported that PC unit sales fell more than 8% during the third quarter, although whether that is because of consumers moving to alternatives like tablets or just waiting for Windows 8 remains to be seen. Meanwhile, Microsoft is hurting. In the quarter that ended in September, sales and earnings both declined from from last year, although that doesn’t reflect $1.36 billion of deferred revenue. 

“There are 670 million PCs just waiting to be upgraded to Windows 8,” Ballmer said. “That is a very large number.” In the next year, analysts are projecting that the PC industry will sell 400 million new PCs, most of which will run Windows 8, he added.

What’s interesting is that, although Microsoft spent some time describing the differences between Windows 8 and Windows RT, it never announced the price.

Retailers like Newegg had previously revealed the prices of Windows 8, including that the full version would be released for $99.99, and that Windows 8 Professional would be released for $139.99. A digital upgrade to Windows 8 Pro will cost $69.99, NewEgg had said, the same price as the Pro Pack. But a Microsoft representative didn't confirm either the $99.99 or $139.99 offering. 

For its part, Microsoft said that through the end of January, consumers currently running PCs with Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7 are qualified to download an upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for $39.99. Windows 7 PCs purchased between June 2, 2012, and Jan. 31, 2013, can download an upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for $14.99 with the Windows Upgrade Offer site. An upgrade to Windows Pro can be purchased on DVD for $69.99, Microsoft said.

There are two versions of Windows 8 (aside from Windows RT): the basic and undoubtedly the most popular version, as well as Windows 8 Pro, which adds the Media Center functionality that allows a PC to serve as a DVR of sorts.

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.”