The Microsoft Surface Pro isn't just novel, though that certainly is part of its appeal along with the sexy design and high quality look and feel. It's a landmark marriage of computing power and portability.

Classy and good looking; great build and materials; fast; clean Windows 8 Pro install; comes with digital pen; 1080p display; wildly portable for a Core i5 machine

A little heavy for a tablet, a bit small for a laptop; but a valiant attempt at marrying the two. Battery life passable but not laudable

Microsoft met some resistance with its first Surface tablet, but that isn't stopping the company from making a second attempt, this time with a full copy of Windows 8. Where the Surface RT left would-be tableteers confused with its partial app support, the Surface Pro is Windows on far more familiar...

The Surface Pro is out and our complete review is ready. Like it or not, the Surface Pro is one of the most anticipated tablet of this first quarter of 2013 and it's easy to understand why: it is the reference tablet that is supposed to prove that a full Windows 8 Pro tablet is functional and viable...

Introduction: Dear old Microsoft, were you really teasing us all this time with your Surface RT tablet When we first laid our eyes on your modernized slate, we were intrigued by how well it seemed to come together – it just had this polarizing aura around it.

Full Windows 8 Pro experience; Vibrant and sharp looking display; Distinctive and solid design; Useful pressure sensitive stylus; Peppy performance

Terrible camera; Battery life is less than other tablets; Not enough apps make use of the stylus

At that price, there are plenty of other options, from premium touch-screen ultrabooks to hybrid devices with rigid, removable keyboards, to convertibles with screens that twist or rotate. With all these emerging form factors, consumers have much to consider.

Gorgeous 1080p screen; Premium design; Runs most Windows apps; Comes with a stylus

So-so battery life; Windows OS and restore partition eat up much of the onboard storage; Single USB port

Summary: The Core i5-based Surface Pro combines ultrabook components with a (chunky) 10.6in. tablet form factor to deliver decent performance and excellent build quality. However, a few design issues, missing features and, above all, disappointing battery life suggest you'd be wise to wait and see...

Solid; elegant hardware design; Runs Windows 8 Pro and legacy software; Ultrabook-level performance; Supports pressure-sensitive pen input

Disappointing battery life; Kickstand isn't adjustable; No desktop or keyboard dock available; Desktop scaling issues when used with a large external monitor; Lacks GPS and NFC; No mobile broadband option; Stylus needs a storage location within the chassis

Back then, we were told the Intel Core i5-powered, Windows 8 Pro-toting tablet would be released around three months after Windows 8 itself . In mid-January, Microsoft announced the release date of the Surface Pro, but only for North America .

Brilliant design; Great touchscreen display; Excellent add-on keyboard connector

Significant; inescapable compromise inherent in form factor; Mediocre battery life for a notebook; terrible for a tablet; Frustrating power connector

The Surface PRO on a fundamental hardware level is fairly sound. It meets the needs of your average user, but may not appeal to people who need a high-performance machine. If you do casual website editing, blogging, small bursts of gaming, or browsing the internet, you should be OK.

HD Display; Stylus; Windows Legacy Support; Audio and Video Codex

4 Hour Battery Life; 23.4 GB Free to Use on a 64 GB model; Blackberry Z10 Speaker Quality Is Better; Using the Virtual Keyboard in Desktop Situations Is Terrible

Microsoft's attempt to combine a tablet and an Ultrabook has been a success in almost every respect when it comes to the Surface Pro. The significantly improved processing power which is effectively identical to that of an Ultrabook, comes at the expense of a few significant disadvantages though.

Very good tablet performance; High contrast and bright display; Multi-touch + pen entry; Very good case quality; Integrated display support (kickstand; USB 3.0 + DisplayPort; Magnetic power connection; Power supply with USB port; High performance; input pen included; x86 version of Windows 8 for...

Available storage capacity (64GB version; Cooling fan is clearly audible when utilized; Heavy weight; Low camera resolution; Moderate battery life; More storage capacity; lower system noise; lighter weight and longer battery life

The Surface Pro is an interesting hybrid of a tablet and laptop. Unlike its little sibling (Surface RT), which is considered more of a tablet, the Surface Pro has more affinity to the ultrabook.

* Great; solid build and design; * Powerful hardware; * Large storage; * Full-sized USB 3.0 port; * Full HD resolution