Despite all of the attention on the iPad mini and Google's Nexus tablet expansions (a new $399 Nexus 10 is coming) and various and sundry Kindles, I am most interested in the effect of the Surface on the marketplace.
The existing paradigm in tablets is essentially Apple people vs Google people vs Readers/Suckers for a deal.
The PROMISE of the Surface is spot on (from MS sales site): From touch to type, office to living room, from your screen to the big screen, you can see more, share more, and do more with Surface.
It's the focus on DOING MORE that has frustrated tablet users. We want it all - ultra-portability and affordable price AND true productivity. We have seen some people stretch tablets to their limit in terms of "doing," but it's pretty tough as a form factor in its current state. How many people use their tablets to take notes in class? Ultrabooks really are the killer hardware, but they are prohibitively priced. [Count the Macbook Airs in class doing that same note-taking - we can afford the premium product....]
Microsoft is doubling down on the "doing" by focusing on the integrated physical keyboard (although it doesn't come with it - a mistake) and the inclusion of Office. Assuming Office works well on this Windows 8 platform, this a huge move forward for tablets, esp since most of the US is still a Windows/Office market. The Surface also includes a nifty stylus for unique interactivity.
But as this article in Infoworld points out, Microsoft just can't get out of their own way as they have launched with confusing versions and licences relative to Office and Windows 8 vs RT.
http://www.infoworld.com/t/tablets/microsofts-meaningless-rt-license-could-sink-surface-205931
There's also the issue of app dev for yet another platform. Microsoft PAID some developers so they could launch with apps - supposedly the most of any such launch.
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