Surface: Microsoft, What the Hell is Wrong With You?

Hard to tell.

If MS pitch the entry level RT at ipad territory - $499, why would people buy it instead of an ipad?

Ipad has that "must have" branding. They also have an immense app store.

Perhaps there are some who have been waiting for a windows tablet - they will go for it.

Ipad has been around a while - this is new - and we all know people love new things. That might help.

Will wait for a few generations of this tab before checking it out...

$1000 nope wont buy one.. $500 or so i might think about it.

I think they may have a fighting chance with this endeavor. Windows 8 would be right at home here, however I still don't like the way they are trying to shove metro down our throats on the desktop. I may even entertain the thought of replacing my Kindle Fire with something they offer in the future. But I will definitely let this stew for a while before I jump in. Win 7 for the real computer for many years to come at my house.

With the (re-)unveiling of the Surface (which ironically used to be the moniker for their touch operated TABLE (not tablet) sized devices), i guess i finally understand what MS plans to do about Windows 8..

THIS is the platform that will act as the show piece of what Windows 8 is all about.. The final cog in their masterplan to subvert Apple's dominion of the tablet market at least in the enterprise arena...

I think they've decided to head down this path (of making the hardware themselves) because they realised that OEMs aren't doing the job well enough... They've realised (like Apple did all those years ago) that to ensure the best OOBE user experience they've got to design the hardware with the software and integrate them seamlessly themselves...

If anything, this will ensure a minimum benchmark that other OEMs will have to adhere to when designing W8 tablets/devices... and prove that MS is indeed serious about pushing W8 (RT) as a viable competitor to the IOS infrastructure...

Its a pity they couldn't set pricepoints or a firm release date (This is where Apple shines).. This is the sort of hardware that could drive people to Windows 8 (Metro) adoption and silence the desktop skeptics once and for all... I'd be on board for a Surface Pro myself if they released it when W8 RTM comes out...