Even if they had launched at the same time who is really going to buy a 2 pound tablet when you can get a $199 (soon $99) 7" tablet that weighs so much less? A regular laptop + cheap tablet killed the Surface Pro long before it had a chance to even go on sale. Microsoft was competing with the iPad 1 / MacBook Air -2 generations.

If you can find me a $99 tablet with an x86 processor then I am more than willing to buy a million of them, with cash. I don't think you really understand the premise of Surface Pro.

Surface Pro will sell even less than Surface RT. rumored price & battery life are already seriously hampering any lust people might have had for it. If I have 1k to spend, I'd rather get a proper ultra-book.

Surface Pro may yet be an unlikely hit - the reason - the Windows ecosystem is still king in business. Some classes of existing applications will be improved by just running them on a tablet, without any modifications required.

It has the same battery life as the 11 inch Macbook Air and very similar specs across the board.

In what way is it not a proper ultra-book ?

The keyboard isn't glued on, it's held by magnets and flops off, provides no structural support. You can't prop it up in your lap like you can a MacBook Air or any notebook for that matter. It's a tablet with a keyboard that's only useful if you have a desk.

It runs Windows 8 and only Windows 8, so unlike a MacBook or even a small Dell notebook, Linux isn't an option. It's locked down in the worst possible way, more like an iPad than an Air.

I'm not even sure what the market for this is. People who want a computer with a relatively terrible keyboard? People who want a bulky alternative to the iPad?

My only hope is the pen is actually useful as this would be less expensive than the equivalent Wacom Cintiq.

Right. I'd much rather have an Asus Transformer style Windows 8 tablet + keyboard dock / second battery. Hopefully they'll come with more storage and battery time than the Surface Pro. Plus they'll likely be in the major retailers rather than just Microsoft's stores.

Surface Pro can run classic Windows apps in desktop mode remember - hardly locked down.

I'm not talking about apps, I'm talking about the entire OS. This is not intended to be a general purpose computing device. It is not a traditional notebook or a replacement for one.

> It runs Windows 8 and only Windows 8, so unlike a MacBook or even a small Dell notebook, Linux isn't an option. It's locked down in the worst possible way, more like an iPad than an Air.

Is that speculation or do you have a reference for that?

It's still speculation until someone confirms it, but as far as I can tell, UEFI is a requirement for Windows 8, and it's not good: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/software/3374039/installing-...

It's possible that a Linux certification for UEFI will come about, but that will mean you're restricted to certain flavors of Linux and not able to freely install whatever.

You can turn off secure boot in the settings and run whatever you want to.

Any reference to that?

If the Surface is basically the same as a MBA 11", why not just get the MBA 11" with a proper keyboard and bigger screen?

OT: Just today on Metro North I had occasion to open up my 13.3" MBP and do a bit of work in one of the cramped jumper seats. Even balancing on one knee, it worked reasonably. Would have been a cinch on an 11" MBA. Would have been impossible on the Surface Pro.

Which is doubly ironic... the broken promise of the Pro is likely to kill both the RT and the Pro.

Wish to bet on that? I'll take you up on it. We can use http://longbets.org/

I don't really see them as competing with each other that directly... The Pro has more powerful hardware (and compatibility with legacy x86 applications), but is way pricier, heavier, and with less battery life. It seems pretty clearly aimed at businesses (as the name itself implies), whereas the RT is aimed at consumers. Certainly some people will choose one over the other, but there seems to me to be room for both in the marketplace.