Microsoft Surface RT is not a great tablet. I wouldn't generally use it instead of my iPad...in general. But it has obliterated my use for the MacBook Air which was a constant companion of mine.
What makes Surface so compelling comes down to 3 basic design decisions that have far reaching consequences:
1. The removable keyboard works extremely well. Especially the upgraded one.
2. It supports a mouse and mouse cursor allowing for precision control.
3. It integrates much better into the Windows ecosystem than anything the Apple ecosystem can offer.
Right now, the biggest drawback, which I've harped on considerably, is that the software, at release, was not ready for prime time. It's still woefully under polished. I remained shocked at how poor the integration with SkyDrive is. They want me to use this as a cloud device but SkyDrive isn't accessible from their own apps (music, video, etc.).
But once SkyDrive is integrated, it'll make iCloud look primitive. I want to love iCloud but it's so limited and there's no apparent road map that indicates that iCloud is going to become flexible enough to use in ways Apple hasn't thought of for you.
In the meantime, HomeGroups and general network connectivity means that you can easily integrate all your "stuff" in your home or office as being accessible from Surface. That means my XBOX, my Windows PCs (videos, music -- including my iTunes music), my Wireless printers, even my televisions are seen by it.
The biggest obstacle remains the generally poor quality of the software (the lack of being able to organize things -- creating play lists with their music app is a huge pain, the dearth of software options -- no Facebook app? No MS provided twitter app? No Amazon app?, the general usability limitations of Metro -- I can't sort my search findings by size, date, etc.). If they can fix these things, and quickly, Surface and Windows RT could be a killer app.
I'm really coming to enjoy it. I just fear that the first impressions will be negative due to the rather weak state they launched it in.
