Tbh I've never seen a Surface or bothered to look them up. I had assumed these were just branded tablets manufactured by third parties. Looking now, I still don't see why MS are bothering with them exactly, but the consensus seems to be it's only a way to try and bootstrap the Windows tablet market.

i5 + 4G RAM + 64G SSD = Excel, ssh, ftp, sublimetext, IDEs, full blown email program, virtual machines. Docking station for easy keyboard and mouse support + multiple monitors.

Use the pen to annotate pdfs, draw flowcharts, make designs, take notes.

Read flipboard, kindle on your lap.

It is a very good proposition for technical savvy business people. It's not as good as a corresponding laptop(better internals, better keyboard, better monitor) or a corresponding tablet (better design, dimentions, weight, app selection). But it is very well built, has decent battery life, truly portable, slick looking and powerful. If you are not concerned with your friends' opinion on it and you NEED the functionality and convenience of only 1 device, the surface pro 2 is a very good choice. And I imagine it will only get better. I don't use the cover tho. Very expensive without providing much convenience. If you need a keyboard for a quick email or smth like that, the onscreen will do its job like in another tablets and if you are committed to work, it will not suffice.