Just saw the review for the Surface Pro on CNN, and they basically hated it. It runs full Windows 8 but said its more difficult to use than a laptop and too big and clunky to be a good tablet. The keyboard was said to be OK, but the trackpad is hard to use. The kickstand/keyboard arrangement means that it can't be used on your lap.

Has anyone on here actually used one yet?

Since it's not been released officially yet, the number of people using it is going to be pretty slim.

See this thread for discussion on the surface tablets

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...t-surface.html

Interesting. USAToday had a very positive review of it today.

Safe to say mixed reviews so far then

Here's a link to the CNN review. http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/05/tech...iew/index.html

The OP's characterization is rather misleading. Under their illustration, CNN's tagline was "Good not great." I read the review as very positive about some aspects and negative on the question of how it integrates Windows 8 and using legacy Windows programs.

But judge for yourself whether they 'basically hated it.'

Interestingly the El Reg review said a similar thing about the lap usability. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/02...ce_pro_review/

But The Wall Street Journal, not so much:

Surface Pro: Hefty Tablet Is a Laptop Lightweight.
(Access may require a subscription.)

A few snips:
"But unlike the first (i.e. the "regular" Surface), this new tablet is capable of running full-featured Windows 8, though at a price�in dollars, bulk and battery life."

"It's too hefty and costly and power-hungry to best the leading tablet, Apple's full-size iPad."

"It lasted just under four hours between charges�less than half the stamina of the iPad on the same test and three hours less than the Surface RT."

"...it's compromised as a laptop. You get fewer ports and less storage than on many laptops and a keyboard that can't compare with those on many laptops."

But on the plus side:
"It ran all the software I threw at it�both the new type and the old desktop type�speedily and well."

The reviewer, Walt Mossberg, has a tendency to dislike things that compete with Apple devices. (IMHO)

That is putting it lightly. He's one of the biggest Apple fans out there.

I've read all the reviews, and I'll still be in line on Saturday to buy one. Even after being burned on the RT, I have faith in the Pro. Engadget called it the best Windows 8 tablet there is, and after using most of them, the bar hasn't been set too high

There'll be a line?

Only if someone stands behind ScottC.

For Surface RT there was, yes. But when it launched, the Microsoft store was the only place selling them.

Meow I'm waiting to see whether this is as popular as MS think it will be

Yes, I saw that one last night.

I did read the CNN review and while I agree that "trashed" and "basically hated it" do characterize the review, it did net out to an unfavorable.

Without a hands-on experience, I'd guess the WSJ was probably the closest - a good in-between machine with a few flaws. And one of the flaws being that an in-between machine isn't really great at either.

I think I'd rather have two very good machine (my ultra-portable PC and my iPad) than one device that saves space/weight but isn't really good at either.

(then again, I use a full DLSR, not a P&S, have separate transport/processor/pre-amp/amplifier vs. CD Player/Receiver, etc.)

I've watched it again, and although "trashed" was an excessive word to use I felt that the reviewer only put in some positive comments because he had to. He was more physically animated when making the negative comments while his expression and body language dropped off when he was making the positive comments. Possibly too much pop psych there, but I reckon if you asked him about it over a beer he'd say he hated it.

I've got an iPhone, an iPad and a PC laptop. I use them all for different things and I see virtually no applications for them in the gaps between. About all I can think of is playing Angry Birds on your laptop. The things I can't do on my iPad that I would like to do involve the use of a mouse (writing DTP and PowerPoint), and apparently that's one of the worst things about the Surface Pro.

This is sort of a "Good Man, Bad Wizard" situation.

If you evaluate the Surface products as a PC tablet, it is among the better ones.
If you evaluate the Surface products as a PC laptop, well... it just isn't one.

The keyboard/kickstand is little more than a novelty,

We have a bunch of the Asus VivoTab and its keyboard is a much more elegant solution. Although only Atom based. And from what I can see the keyboards are rarely not attached.