David Pogue of the New York Times Technology blog has given a glowing review of the upcoming Microsoft Surface Pro.  Titled ‘Microsoft’s Surface Pro Tablet Changes the Game’ his hands-on walk-through of the product and functionality calls the Surface Pro – “conceptually and practically, a home run.”.

It will mean the end of the daily question: “Hmm, should I take my laptop or my iPad?”

Pogue is upfront for his dislike of the Windows 8 operating system, having described the duplicitous double interface of the touchscreen environment and underlying desktop environment as an “ill-conceived mashup”.   Still, his review points to the fact that the dual operating system is defensible for this type of device because it really is two devices – a full PC and a tablet.  He also points out a number of nifty features as a pressure-sensitive magnetic stylus and some nifty USB features:

There’s only one USB port on the device — USB 3.0, fortunately (meaning fast). But Microsoft has added a second USB 3.0 jack on the power brick itself. So whenever you’re set up at home or at work, plugged in to get work done, you now have two USB jacks. You can be charging your phone as you work, for example, by plugging it into the power cord. That’s just so smart. (emphasis mine)

The question on many minds is whether this is a device that they would want to buy in lieu of a laptop, or as a replacement for an iPad.  I believe the answer to that question will be an overwhelming “yes”, at least when it comes to the enterprise.  Pogue adds:

even if the Surface Pro is not strictly a laptop killer, it nonetheless changes the game. It’s a machine nobody’s built before, and it should get a lot of imaginations whirring.

There have been a number of preview reviews of the Surface Pro emerging and the results have been generally good ones.  The overriding question on many minds really has been the proposition of how the public will respond to the device, how the enterprise responds to the devices, and how the market responds to the success or lack of.  With a small pocket of naysayers, and to be fair there were many that looked down on what the iPad could do before it came out, reviews like this could foretell a significant run for the Surface Pro when it finally hits in just a matter of weeks.