surface Pro & surface RT laptops

The surface RT tablet is finally available for purchase, consumers an alternative to the iPad and the fourth Nexus 7 to enjoy a completely new user Metro. Not all devices are very happy, but with a little already thinking about picking up the surface Pro version in  following year.

If you are not already aware, Microsoft announced two versions of the Surface Pro – the RT version with a tablet version of Windows 8 and the Surface Pro, which comes with Windows 8 Pro and support for actual PC applications. The app compatibility issue is becoming a problem for some users, as they’ve realized that none of their favorite applications work with Surface RT.

Then again, Microsoft made it perfectly clear that the Surface RT was a tablet that was designed in a way to offer the same core experiences that other tablets offer on the market – browsing, using Skype, checking emails and so on. But because its a Windows device, some naturally assume it can run every PC application under the sun and if that is the position you’re in – you’ll need to get the Pro in January.

Microsoft has said it will be available around three months after the RT, but has so far declined to offer a solid release date – just in case of any production problems that may arise we expect. The Pro is going to be equipped with a dual-core Core i5 processor instead ( RT ships with an ARM-based chip) and double the RAM (4GB), than what the Surface RT currently offers.

More importantly though, the Pro version will give you the full Windows 8 compatibility that you need and it should give you a better transition for those that want to use the Surface Pro as a replacement for a current Windows laptop. If the RT model costs $499 to buy though, how much more expensive is the Pro model going to cost?

We’ve seen whispers of a price tag close to $1000 emerging, but obviously a lot of consumers are going to feel that this is simply too much to pay for a device that needs to be competitively priced to take on all tablet newcomers in 2013.

As a top buyer RT, as you have with your camera ready? Do you regret buying a tablet because of compatibility issues, or are you just happy to use the device for general purposes?