The review verdict should be: Wait for Haswell.
Which is? Fall 2013?
Ugh.
Personally, I just don't understand why there haven't been ANY tablets in the style of the Surface Pro, but dockable with a full keyboard and strong hinge (like upcoming models).
Especially when combined with the approach of throwing an additional battery in the keyboard dock, and getting even more life. I'd accept the sacrifice of a slightly thicker overall product. I just want an x86 Win8 tablet, dammit, and don't want to wait another 6 months. We don't need to wait for the next CPU revision. We'll always be waiting for the next revision if it's simply in the name of keeping up with the ARMs. Honestly, Haswell may match/close-in on ARM SOCs of today, but does anyone expect Intel to fully match/keep up?
The performance differential is what is most important and I'll suffer less battery. I think it takes some serious screw up to push out a device with less than 4 hours average... but I wouldn't be expecting 10 unless it basically has two batteries (like the now-delayed Lenovo Helix).
There are a few coming out sometime between now and 2014 (some haven't really specified when, some claim Spring, one claimed February but has already been delayed, and one doesn't even go beyond the "coming soon" approach), but why has it even taken this long? Yes, there is a decent product development cycle that must be addressed, but Windows 8 is hardly new, and the current i5/i7 CPUs aren't exactly new either, or were known to be in the pipeline. The raw technology to make a convertible and/or dockable ultrabook/tablet was readily available, it just needed to be designed in an all-inclusive package.
I mean, even without my dream of "the one" device that also includes a stand-out digitizer (Wacom or not), there just haven't been any in truth.
I may just end up getting the Surface Pro just because I'm already tired of waiting, and tired of my old Acer laptop that was about $500 back in 2006/2007.
Just curious: is there some technical impossibility of Microsoft releasing a sturdier keyboard accessory, as in one that can provide a hinge that supports the Surface without the kickstand?
I do have a feeling they couldn't technically wire in an additional battery through such means, not without additional connectors/wires going in other directions (or can the mag connector for the keyboard supply/draw power too?).
I see no reason they couldn't actually produce such an accessory. It just comes down to mating a dock-style seating area, and creating a strong self-supporting hinge - both of which are not unheard of in this tech world.
And I'm wondering if, having used certain battery tests, that the Surface Pro would benefit from either some patching or some minor tweaking? Perhaps a power-saving feature isn't functioning as intended? Perhaps some additional speed-step usage could be forced? (hell, can we even get into the BIOS? And, for that matter, can we, the user, replace the SSD?)
I fully expect to have a new device come out in late 2013 or early 2014 that blows my mind, and if I get the Surface Pro, I'd just be left hoping I can resell it with only a minor penalty.