The Surface Pro hardware is available in two standard fondleslabs, with 64GB or 128GB of solid state memory (more on that later), and priced at $899 and $999 respectively. Both come with a Wacom-based stylus.The 128GB test unit Microsoft sent us is powered by a third-generation Intel Core i5-3317U running at 1.7GHz with 3MB of cache backed up by 4GB of dual-channel RAM. The processor started shipping around the middle of last year, and Microsoft says that newer processors will be added as they become available – presumably it's high on the list for Intel's forthcoming fourth-generation "Haswell" processors.But with the i5's grunt comes a resulting heat penalty, and so the Surface has a cooling vent built into the top rim of the chassis. Inside the tablet, twin fans work in concert with the unit's internal sensors to determine where the top is at any given time and direct airflow upwards and outwards for maximum efficiency.With no Ethernet, the Surface uses 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi with 2x2 MIMO antennas, and these are excellent at picking up strong signals over considerable distance. There's also Bluetooth 4.0 that can handle 3Mbps traffic, and crammed inside the case are an accelerometer, gyroscope, and compass, and an ambient light sensor to manage the display settings on the fly.
The Surface has a bonded 10.6-inch 1920-by-1080 pixel display capable of 10-point touch, which provides a 9.2inch viewing area. The Surface's Intel HD4000 graphics engine can also display 1440-by-1260 pixels on a conventional desktop monitor using the Mini DisplayPort connector in the bottom left of the tablet's case.At the top of the screen there's a front-facing 720p camera for video calls with a rear-facing twin on the other side of the case for those annoying people who like to use a tablet as a camera. On the bottom bezel there's a touch-sensitive Windows button to bring up the home screen. It's not the greatest of cameras, as our test shot using the rear-facing camera shows, but it's good enough. No animals were harmed in our testing of the camera, but a small black cat was slightly peeved.Microsoft is proud of its custom VaporMg magnesium-alloy case, in which the entire shell is injection-molded from liquid metal and then polished up. According to its engineers, the Surface has around 200 parts inside, 150 of which are custom-made, and Redmond says it has its own factory in China doing the assembly.At two pounds it's weightier than many tablet-users would like, and the trapazoid-profile unit measures 10.81 x 6.81 x 0.53 inches at its tips. As with the RT unit, the Surface Pro has a kickstand for viewing or use with the keyboard. The screen viewing area is good enough, so you're reasonably flexible about where you sit when the kickstand is deployed, but using it with a keyboard in Cattle Class on an American airline could be problematic.
The power slot uses a magnetic connector similar to Apple's second-generation MagSafe power connector, and this doubles as a fixing point for the Surface Pro's stylus, which is built using Wacom technology and uses a pressure sensitive tip to act as a mouse, and has a button on top that can be programmed to erase doodles. The Surface is also heavy enough that you can use it as a graphics tablet without it sliding all over the table like lighter fondleslabs.Built into the left side of the casing is a full-sized USB 3.0 port (very welcome and still ridiculously rare), a volume rocker, and 3.5mm headphone jack, with the power button and microphone on top. On the right is the Mini DisplayPort and power port, with a microSD card slot above – and you're going to need the latter given the size of the available storage space.Our 128GB test unit came with 86GB of free space, so it's logical to assume the 64GB version will have a little over 20GB for buyers to play with. You can pick up a 32GB microSD card cheaply enough, 128GB versions are coming soon, and SanDisk say the technology will scale up to 2TB, so a card wallet is going to be a necessary accessory for power Surface users.
Inside lurks a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 1.5GHz dual-core Krait processor with 2GB of RAM. That’s a combo which keeps the XPS 10 moving at a good canter. No matter how many windows I had open or what I was asking the system to do there was no sign of lag, stutter or hesitation.There were no issues with 1080p video, either. Screen resolution notwithstanding, full HD content played cleanly whether locally hosted or streamed. File type support, however, is merely average. At the moment, the RT stock media players don’t support MKV or Flac, and third-party alternatives are thin on the ground.There aren’t many benchmark options for Windows RT at the moment but the SunSpider JavaScript test threw up an impressive score of 953 which is better than either the Surface or Asus’ VivoPad RT, both of which are Tegra 3-based devices. Even the iPad 4 only scores in the high 800s.Both dock and tablet have the same battery in them, a fixed two-cell, 28Wh affair. Looping a 720p MP4 file I got over 18 hours from a full, combined charge. Even after an average of five hours’ varied use each day, I only needed to find a wall socket every fourth day. That's pretty good in my book.
Strangely though it’s the tablet battery that gets drained first. This means that if you watch nine hours of video and then undock the tablet, the tablet battery is flat. This is entirely counter-intuitive. The way Asus does it makes sense: drain the dock first and then the tablet. After all, you can use the tablet without the dock but not the dock without the tablet. That the XPS 10 doesn’t do this is, for me, a major drawback. I can envisage users working away at home on their docked XPS, pulling out the tablet to head off somewhere... only to find they’re out of battery and charger-less.This odd arrangement is somewhat ameliorated by the fact you can charge the tablet through the micro USB port if you find yourself without the traditional rat-and-tail 1.6A PSU.Now to the elephant in the room, Windows RT. Bad points include no support for Windows desktop programs, a less than fully functional Office suite, a horrible lack of apps – though this might improve – and the abrupt transition from the tile-based what-was-once-called-Metro (WWOCM) interface to and from the familiar Windows desktop.
The plus points? Having a desktop and the familiar Windows file explorer; the excellent web browser which negates the need for many of the missing apps; having SkyDrive-linked Office in any form; and the handy default WWOCM apps, including Messaging, Mail and Skype.You’ll notice some things fall into both categories, which is why I suspect RT causes people to get so bent out of shape and confused. There’s no doubt that Windows 8 in any form takes some getting used to, but having a PC-like UI on a tablet is something I find myself becoming more and more well disposed towards.I’m not saying Windows 8 RT is perfect. By no means. You could argue that it occupies a no man's land between tablet (read phone) opertaing systems like Android and iOS, and grown up desktop operating systems like Windows 8, Mac OS X or any good Linux distro. I admit I don’t like Windows RT as much as I like Android, but I’m starting to I dislike it less than I do iOS 6.
For £629 – the cost of a 64GB XPS 10 and the dock – you expect a very well made and powerful bit of kit, and the Dell doesn’t disappoint. The screen performs better than the written specification would lead you to believe, but the bonkers battery arrangement will make for some moments of profound annoyance when you want your undocked tablet to work but it won’t for lack of battery charged. The problem with Windows RT is that it doesn’t offer anything that Windows 8 proper doesn’t – quite the contrary – which makes me feel it should be rather cheaper than it is, even if the hardware feels up to the price point. I rather like the XPS 10, but I’d like a Windows 8 Pro version for the same price even more. So that's what you get for the $999 our test unit cost – a very high-end x86 Windows tablet and a pen which amounts to something you could conceivably use as an office PC replacement, if you have the monitor as well as wireless and/or USB accessories.
To make it a functioning mobile Ultrabook you can use outside the office, you'll need to get some extra kit that will push the purchase cost over the one-grand price point, whichever model you buy. Your first port of call will be the keyboard.The Surface Pro has with a choice of two types of keyboards; the Touch Cover for an extra $119.99 and the Type Cover for $129.99. Microsoft also touts three $129.99 Limited Edition Touch Covers for style-conscious individualists, laser-etched with patterns depicting either the Chinese Year of the Snake, a pattern of cartoon skulls, or some tastefully drawn flowers. El Reg would advise not using these in the office if you want to be taken seriously.Since at this time there's no official third-party keyboard market, you're going to have to buy from Microsoft, and of the two types the Type Cover is the logical choice. It's slightly thicker than its cheaper counterpart, but our tests show it to be much more usable for anything other than casual use.