[rayiner]

I don't think HN has a hard time understanding it, they just think it's not going to be a successful product. Device consolidation is always tricky, but for it to be really successful the integrated device has to be "good enough" in both areas. E.g. people don't buy consumer digital cameras anymore because cell phone cameras are perfectly serviceable.

Is the Surface Pro a "good enough" laptop? I'd argue no, not with the keyboard/trackpad situation and lack of a rigid connecting hinge. Ars's review noted as much. As it a "good enough" tablet? I'd argue no, not with the weight, heat, and short battery life.

Now, obviously "good enough" is in the eye of the beholder. When people rag on Surface Pro, the thinking is that it's not going to be "good enough" in both roles for the majority of customers, and as such isn't going to sell.

The situation is complicated by the fact that the unit is priced at more serious users, those who can't get away with an iPad + keyboard attachment by itself. Those users are more likely to see the keyboard/trackpad issue as a deal breaker for serious work. Less serious users, who don't need the extra capability, have no reason to look at it over an iPad.

Also, don't forget about how 7" tablets factor into the equation, because they make it more practical to carry a laptop + tablet. An 11.6" MBA + iPad Mini 16GB will run you $1330 versus about $1030 for 64GB for the Surface, and weigh in at around a pound heavier. But, in return you get more combined screen real estate, more combined storage, and triple the combined battery life.

[rbn]

I've only played around with the surface in the stores.

To me this is the first iteration of a brand new form factor. Of course it has problems. But the great thing is that the other companies like Lenovo, ASUS,HP..ect will look at this and hopefully see its problems and iterate on it. Also the new intel CPU is aimed at this form factor, which is suppose to cut heat and battery use to "near" ARM levels.

For me it will be amazing to have 1 product for everything. Ubuntu on my tablet? sure! hook up to external monitor, write on it, type on the screen, type on the mini keyboard, type on a full keyboard? all possible.

[bruceboughton]

When was the last time Lenovo, Asus or HP innovated on anything? They can knock out solid PCs but they are not innovators in PC hardware (any more).

[scholia]

So you don't think the Asus Transformer represented any sort of hardware innovation? The Asus Padphone? The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon? The TouchSmart 9300 Elite? Really?

[bruceboughton]

Asus Transformer & PadFone - perhaps. I'm far from convinced though.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon - what is the innovation? Carbon Fiber?

TouchSmart 9300 Elite - an iMac clone with an external power brick?

[scholia]

You need to do more product research. What's the point of claiming a "lack of innovation" if you don't actually have a clue what innovations these products offer?

[bruceboughton]

Please educate me then. What are the innovations? Because the product pages do an incredibly poor job of showing me.

[bjustin]

>To me this is the first iteration of a brand new form factor.

Yes! It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

The first Macbook Air significantly compromised to achieve its form factor, and now the Surface is doing the same. If Microsoft can fix the compromises in two years like Apple did with the MBA, they could have a real winner.

[edtechdev]

Also, there is choice. There is the Asus Transformer Book coming out, which is perhaps even more powerful (i7) and has a dockable keyboard with extra battery. Or if you want something not as powerful but lighter weight, without a noisy fan, and much better battery life, there is the Asus Vivotab TF810C out now, or the Samsung ATIV Smart PC, although they have the clovertrail atom processor which looks like may not allow installing Linux.

[rbanffy]

> although they have the clovertrail atom processor which looks like may not allow installing Linux.

That's probably going to be solved soon. The incentive to build X86 android tablets is high and, by judging the battery life of the Atom powered Motorola phone, it'll be a very attractive option.