Microsoft Announce Surface Tablet

[Steven P Jobs]

Sure, with the metro UI it would be fine. The desktop is locked on the ARM version AFAIK, so I don't see an issue. Actually, it would be awesome to have all the features of Win 8 ARM on a 7" tablet.

You're not spending most of your time in the Metro UI though. I realize that Win8/RT/Metro is somewhat resolution independent, but I think apps that are designed for a 10"+ screen would look pretty bad on 7".

The Surface isn't designed to compete with the Kindle Fire and similar devices - Microsoft's proposition here is that you can have a tablet that's a true laptop replacement, the only device you need to have as long as you're not a poweruser. I'm not sure if they can pull it off (I wish them the best, I was really impressed by the WinRT version of Surface), but it's a lot more likely at 10" than at 7".

The one big issue I see is that they're not willing to commit to a platform. When you walk into an Apple store you can buy a Mac or an iPad. Nobody is going to confuse the two, it's obvious that they run different software. With the Surface on the other hand, you have two nearly identical looking devices running nearly identical looking OSs, and yet there's no software compatibility between the two. That's sure to confuse some consumers I think.

IMO Microsoft should keep "classic" Windows around for corporate and legacy stuff, and put all their energy into WinRT/ARM as its consumer platform. Either that or drop it entirely, but don't give it a halfhearted shot, that's not going to work with the fierce competition that exists in this market.