So... I finally took the plunge and bought a Microsoft Surface RT with Touch Cover
First impression: excellent construction and materials, manageable size and weight, very good screen quality, attractive minimalistic design, useful kick stand. Any down side? Honestly I have to nit pick. It's not the thinnest. The black colour is a little anonymous. Back camera is almost useless.
The Touch Cover is really a high point. I had the choice of a free Type Cover or Touch Cover. Sure, the type cover is easier to type on, but the compromise is having twice the thickness, and it might also be less durable. The touch cover on the other hand is no thicker than an iPad cover, but it doubles as a keyboard. This is like having a keyboard that doesn't add any bulk, or take up any screen space.
So how good, or bad, is typing on the Touch cover? I typed this whole post with it on my lap - after very little practice I am typing on it just as fast as any laptop keyboard I have used - and I have used some of the best in the business, like Lenovo and Panasonic. In my opinion this is the future. I would not be surprised if an ultrabook comes out with a touch keyboard like this to save thickness.
Well enough of that for now. The tablet itself is exactly what you'd expect - a tablet with Windows 8 Modern UI. Everything is smooth and fast. There is occasionally some waiting - the circling dots is just as boring as the flipping hourglass - but thankfully you forget about it once it's over. And it might just be some initial setups that would not be nearly as bad once I have everything configured.
There are less Apps, undeniably, than Android or iOS, but to use a really old cliché, it's about quality not quantity. Many Apps for Windows 8/RT follow the UI guidelines that really work, and consistent with the OS. For example, the News app that comes with Windows 8/RT has a side scrolling pages interface, and many news site apps follow a very similar UI. This is a good sign because I am quite tired of many confusing apps on Android and iOS. Plus, the charms bar and menu bar provide standard access to options.
Speaking of bars, of course there's the taskbar. It gives easy access to currently running apps, much like Android 4.x, but also lets you snap apps. This is currently underutilized, but when the app supports it, it gives you great multitasking option. Switching back and forth between composing your email and researching on the internet is frustrating on Android and nearly impossible on iOS, but is quite doable with app snap.
It's early to say, but overall the Surface RT feels like a laptop replacement, in tablet form. I can't honestly say that to any other tablet on the market right now.
