Is the battery user serviceable?
 

Inquiring minds would like to know.

so if you're going to run widows, windows apps, and carry a keyboard, why not just buy a small laptop???? seems like that would travel just as well...

Tablet form factor with well thought out keyboard cover, tablet interface, likely tablet optimised apps plus (for the Wintel device) should run pretty much everything else on top of that. Not so much a USP as a collection of vaguely useful bits and pieces that add up.

Oh, and make no mistake, there will be a Transformer type form factor in the pipeline.

There is currently nothing to be excited about. As one press story said

At a press event in Los Angeles Monday afternoon, Microsoft announced an eye-catching new tablet computer but didn't specify what it would cost, when it would go on sale or how long it would run on a charge. What could possibly go wrong with that?

We don't know how crippled the operating system will be, why they used the same name from another product from 2007 (kisoks with touch screens). The keyboard cover is no big deal, I see people with ipads using them all the time.

Not letting the reporters actually use them at the event, just hold them, also is not all that encouraging.

There are many holes they need to fill in before anybody has any reason to get excited about them.

Because a small laptop isn't a tablet. I have a table that I use a lot . . . as a tablet. There are occasions, though, when I want it to do more. This Microsoft tablet-with-optional-keyboard seems to fit the bill.

As someone who stayed off the Apple bandwagon, I'd be interested in this as long the price is the below the Ipad.

To me this Microsoft tablet is another iteration of the slate TabletPCs that has been available since 2003. (Actually earlier than that, as I recall a Fujitsu slate that is Win98 powered, but WinXP gained TabletPC support in ca. 2003.)

As someone who has owned a slate TabletPC since 2004, my advise is to brace for disappointment, though it is no fault of Microsoft. Microsoft has been steadily improving TabletPC support since XP, but the vast majority of developers did not want to take the risk. So you will be stuck using an onscreen or external keyboard as input most of time. On the rare occasion you come across an ink-enabled application, it is a real joy.

The main thing we learned yesterday is that Microsoft still hasn't learned from Apple how to conduct a new product release presser.

Whether you've gone all-in with Apple or not, you gotta admit...they always nail the presser.

I agree. When you are the gorilla in the room (Apple), you can get away with not having functioning display models and detailed specs etc. as there's a user base who, to date, are already paying attention. MS don't have that luxury. It's smacks of something that was rushed out before it was really ready for a launch.

If it has a screen that rivals the retina display (I'd even settle for 1080p), and it's priced competitively, I might consider it.

I still like my TouchPad, and it does everything it needs to do as a tablet.

I love my Ipad but if it is cheap enough I would buy one for work. I need to use a mouse for our software and need flash to run our work software, this would be much better than carrying a laptop. That being said, I would keep the Ipad, still better than carrying a laptop and Ipad.

All of which is why the name Zune jumped out at me when I read about this unit. It has fail written all over it. How long before a MS exec admits that they never should have brought it to market, as they recently did when commenting about the Zune?

Windows 8 release to manufacturing is supposed to be less than 2 months away. So far, nobody has been clamoring for it, and many have been fiercely resisting it. The whole idea of Metro is to have the same OS from computer to tablet to phone.

Tomorrow, Microsoft will announce their Windows 8 phone.

This is all about pushing Windows 8, folks.

when apple announced the ipad, they said how long the battery would last, how much it would cost, when it would ship and also had hands-on demo units available for reporters at the intro event.

six months ago, eric schmidt said "In the next six months we plan to market a tablet of the highest quality" and google i/o is next week. microsoft really wanted to say something this week.

MS appears to be targeting this directly towards the biggest shortcomings of the iPad. If it turns out to be a real product and is priced competitively they could actually sell some of these.

I love my ipad but it is horrible for most content creation (fantastic for consumption). Throwing in an accessible file system/USB/useable Excel or equivalent/easier access to the PITA proprietary systems so many businesses are tied to etc should sell some tablets.

Looks to be classic MSFT vaporware for now but will be curious to see how this progresses.