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Where does this one rate? Very well -- but very differently. While those devices are primarily targeted at content-hungry consumers, the Surface is a slate upon which you can get some serious work done, and do so comfortably. You can't always say that of the competition.

If you're an early adopter willing forget everything you know about navigating a computer, the Surface tablet could replace your laptop. Everyone else: wait for more apps.

The Microsoft Surface with Windows RT bridges the distance between tablet and laptop for many users, particularly if you use the Web or Microsoft Office constantly. The Surface has very good hardware and some innovative design, but Microsoft Office RT is the killer app.

Overall it’s quite good; certainly better than any full-size Android tablet on the market. And once the application ecosystem fleshes out, it’s a viable alternative to the iPad as well.

If you can live with its tiny number of third-party apps and somewhat disappointing battery life, it may give you the productivity some miss in other tablets.

The Surface and its innovative Touch Cover proves that Microsoft can make hardware to rival the iPad, but the app ecosystem needs to catch up.

The Surface RT is a product of unfortunate timing. The hardware is great. The Type Cover turns it into a small convertible tablet powered by a promising OS in Windows RT. That said, there are simply more mature options available right now.

The Surface is a nice tablet. The design and aesthetic are pleasing, the feel in the hands, particularly of the kickstand and magnetic cover connection is excellent. But is it worth buying on the day of release?

Surface RT is packed with productivity potential, and finds a certain measure of success in reinventing the tablet form factor. But its hardware isn't perfect, and its Windows RT operating system lacks flexibility and app support.

The Surface is a brilliantly conceived machine whose hardware will take your breath away — but whose software will take away your patience.

I don't believe Surface is perfect. I would have liked to have seen faster hardware inside, and there are some rough edges that could use smoothing out ... but overall the device is easily in recommendable territory.

In business-travel situations where I need only to write articles and respond to email, I can see throwing Surface RT and the Type Cover into my backpack, and leaving my Ultrabook (and iPad) at home. But is this tablet a full-fledged "thing"? No, not yet.

Should you buy it? No. The Surface, with an obligatory Touch Cover, is $600. That's a lot of money. Especially given that it's no laptop replacement, no matter how it looks or what Microsoft says. It's a tablet-plus, priced right alongside the iPad and in most ways inferior.

We're sold, honestly, on the Surface RT. It's not cheap, but it's priced aggressively enough that people will give it some thought before they snap up an iPad.

For an audacious version 1.0 product, it’s impressive.

This is the tablet for Windows fans. It won’t win over Apple iPad owners, but for all those who hate Apple, find Android confusing and underwhelming, and are ready to enter the world of touch-screen computing this is the alternative you’ve been waiting for.

The Surface team has cribbed some of Apple’s notorious attention to detail and applied it with its own spin, and the result is a well-constructed slate with legitimately useful design elements like the kickstand. ... Windows RT will undoubtedly prove the sticking point.

The Surface is full of potential, but until its software performance and apps are as strong as its hardware, I, unfortunately, will still drag both a laptop and an iPad through security.

Microsoft is making a very strong entry to the tablet market with its Surface running Windows RT. It offers a unique design combined with build quality and attention to detail that few others can match. It sounds superb, has a great (if slightly low-res) screen, and offers excellent battery life.

Surface makes you want to pick it up and play, pleases you with the delivery of Windows RT and the live tiles make it feel personal and alive. Performance is a real issue, but since Tegra is at the heart of high performing tablets, we hope that RT can be tweaked to iron out slowdown issues.

While the Windows RT Store contains a bevy of productivity apps and a selection of top-notch games, it’s the omissions that are glaring...it’ll be a long journey before my Surface can completely replace my Nexus 7 or iPad.

The Microsoft Surface has the impressive keyboard cases, the expandable support, slick Windows 8 UI, and the multitasking prowess that is really a unique tablet feature. However, it's let down by some worrying performance issues, a disappointing screen, and threadbare Microsoft app Store.

The faster Microsoft can get developers on board, the better — and the early days will be slow-going in some respects as a result of this lack of apps. But even as it stands today, the Surface provides a terrific experience right out of the box and it will only get better over time.

Microsoft’s first stab at building a premium tablet was a very good one in our opinion. Microsoft still has a lot of work to do to build out the Windows 8/RT app ecosystem ... but the Surface tablet itself and its array of accessories are excellent.

Surface RT is a strong first effort. But I'd consider it more of a hotshot if it could run old Windows software.