back_by_demand :
"is what I could buy a really nice ultrabook for"
Err, attach the keyboard and it is an ultrabook, but when was the last time you could remove the keyboard from an ultrabook and use it as a tablet? You get more for the same price or less
You both mention something which a lot of people should be aware of and gloss over what people should be aware of...
First off, what people should be aware of, is that this "tablet" can completely replace your laptop/ultrabook. The hardware is the equivalent of a mid to lower end of the upper range Ultrabook, and as someone who has a product equivalent to the first Surface Pro (Acer Iconia W700), I can vouch that these types of tablets can replace your whole bloody desktop if you're a mid level user. By mid level, I mean no high-end games (it does run a lot of PC games quite well, but nothing hugely graphics intensive), no DVD/Blu Ray drive, etc, you probably don't want to use it for constantly compiling code if you're a programmer... But if you're someone who uses their desktop/laptop for playing some games, watching movies/Netflix, browsing, e-mailing, Office, installing odd programs, torrenting, the Surface Pro (original or second) will do all of it perfectly well. This thing is a complete ultrabook - hook a keyboard and mouse up to it, plug it into a TV/monitor, you have your desktop, and then you can unplug it and take it on the road as a tablet or laptop just fine.
Second though, they are charging a premium for this. Not a HUGE premium, but a premium. If you do not need the option of switching to a tablet format, you can get an Ultrabook with similar hardware for less. Not a TON less, but less. Personally, I *love* the tablet format... Use it to read the news, comics, .pdf file books for my work, and then switch to a "laptop" when I need it. But simply put, they are charging more for this than you would pay for equivalent Ultrabook hardware. If you're OK using a slower hard drive VS a solid state drive and whatnot, you can get a regular laptop for far cheaper. This device is not for everyone, but for a good group of people, you might well find a Surface Pro - or equivalent competing device - to be the most handy device you've ever owned. The Iconia W700 - Surface Pro equivalent from Acer - is about as neat as any device I've ever owned, and it has made productivity on the go *way* easier and obsoleted my desktop at home.
As for the UK pricing... As with most things, when you work out the pounds to US dollar conversion, the UK people are paying more than their American counterparts. No getting around this as it does it for most everything, so, no surprise there.
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