Microsoft Surface with Windows RT

1. Anandtech.com

Review Credibility: Excellent
In this lengthy and detailed review, AnandTech.com's reviewer finds Microsoft's first foray into tablet making to be a remarkably well-designed affair. However, he says the $600 (with Touch Cover) price tag and lack of apps may put off people who aren't in love with the slate's multitasking chops and Office 2013 RT inclusion. "If you've wanted a tablet that could begin to bridge the content consumption and productivity divide, Surface is it," he writes.

Review: Microsoft Surface Review, Anand Lal Shimpi, Oct. 23, 2012

2. Arstechnica.com

Review Credibility: Excellent
The Surface is a wonderful piece of hardware, Bright says. Unfortunately, the skimpy software support and general lack of apps strangles its early potential. "The big problem Microsoft has is that right now it doesn't matter how good Surface is," he says. "The decision of whether or not to buy depends not on Surface itself, but on Windows RT."

Review: Microsoft's First Stab at a Tablet: Surface Reviewed, Peter Bright, Oct. 23, 2012

3. PCMag.com

Review Credibility: Excellent
Santo Domingo says the Surface "bridges the distance between tablet and laptop for many users" and gives it a rating of Excellent. He finds the lack of available apps troubling, but calls Office a "killer app," and says the tablet is a great option for Netizens and productivity mavens.

Review: Microsoft Surface with Windows RT, Joel Santo Domingo, Oct. 23, 2012

4. Laptop Magazine

Review Credibility: Excellent
Piltch's review mirrors ArsTechnica.com's. "The Surface and its innovative Touch Cover prove that Microsoft can make hardware to rival the iPad, but the app ecosystem needs to catch up." He also runs into occasional performance problems, especially when opening apps and swiping in Charms.

Review: Microsoft Surface with Windows RT Review, Avram Piltch, Oct. 23, 2012

5. CNET

Review Credibility: Excellent
The Microsoft Surface tablet's strong industrial design, productivity chops and excellent baked-in content sources appeal to CNET's Franklin, but he also finds a lot to nitpick about. The Surface feels sluggish in general, he says, but more troubling is Windows RT's steep learning curve and dearth of available apps.

Review: Microsoft Surface Review: Innovative Tablet Stranded in an App Desert, Eric Franklin, Oct. 23, 2012

6. Wired

Review Credibility: Excellent
Honan finds some issues to "kvetch" about, but says the Microsoft Surface is already superior to high-end Android tablets and will pose a threat to the iPad once developers start to fill in the content blanks rampant in the ecosystem. However, the Surface's unique position poses problems. "This is a great device. It is a new thing, in a new space, and likely to confuse many of Microsoft's longtime customers," he says.

Review: Microsoft Surface: Microsoft Dives Deep to Surface a Hit, Mathew Honan, Oct. 23, 2012

7. TheVerge.com

Review Credibility: Excellent
Like other reviewers, Topolsky finds little to complain about in the Microsoft Surface's actual design, but he does find performance pokey at times. He says the hybrid design fails to perform as well as a full-fledged tablet or laptop, a problem exacerbated by the confusing interface and lack of apps. "Instead of being a no-compromise device, it often feels like a more-compromise one," he writes.

Review: Microsoft Surface Review, Joshua Topolsky, Oct. 23, 2012

8. Engadget.com

Review Credibility: Excellent
If you use your tablet for play and content consumption, Android and Apple alternatives are much better options at the moment, Stevens says. "If, however, you're looking for an impeccably engineered tablet upon which you can do some serious work, a device that doesn't look, feel or act like a toy, then you should get yourself a Surface with Windows RT."

Review: Microsoft Surface with Windows RT Review, Tim Stevens, Oct. 23, 2012

9. PC World

Review Credibility: Excellent
The Surface tablet shines in productivity situations and stands apart in a crowded tablet market, Phillips says. However, he argues that most people who truly need portable productivity would be better off waiting for the Microsoft Surface Pro's release in early 2013; it'll run on the full-fledged version of Windows 8, which includes support for classic Windows apps. He cites the Surface RT's reliance on the lackluster Windows app ecosystem as a major weak point.

Review: Review: Surface RT, Microsoft's Bid for a 'Thing' of its Own, Jon Phillips, Oct. 23, 2012