Over the weekend I got to toy around with Microsoft’s elusive Surface Pro tablet. The first thing that struck me was the build of the device. It felt solid and well constructed but it was also much heaver than I had ever imagined it would be. I’m fairly certain I’ve used a number of recent full-featured laptops that didn’t weigh as much as the Surface Pro. I understand Microsoft has this device aimed at the high-end-maximum-performance-demanding crowd, but when using the device I couldn’t help but wonder why you would go with a Surface Pro over a number of far more versatile (and capable) laptops and ultrabooks on the market. The area in which I felt the device excelled was with the touch (Metro) interface of Windows 8. However, since this model also has the full Windows desktop, the person who lent me the tablet also was using a keyboard with touchpad, as well as an additional external mouse, for use where the touch interface just won’t cut it. Microsoft is headed in the right direction, but the way I see them executing their current strategy just doesn’t make sense.

(Image courtesy of The Verge)