 This is David with The Verge and this is the Microsoft Surface Pro. This is basically the real deal, kind of no-compromises Surface. Instead of running Windows RT, a low-powered operating system, the Surface Pro is a full-fledged Windows 8 machine with all of the bells and whistles you'd expect from a high-end laptop. It's also $900 for the cheapest model, so it's competing with some of the best devices out there, but in theory, can do so. There are a bunch of changes from the Surface RT which we reviewed back in October, but most of those are under the hood and I'll get to those in a minute. First there are some really key hardware differences here too. The general Surface look and feel hasn't really changed. This is still a well-made, good-looking tablet. It's made of Microsoft's Vapor MG material which feels a little bit like aluminum and it's really clean and simple and it comes in black and is really just a sleek device. But this is bigger than the Surface RT. It's a lot bigger. It's 13.5mm thick, whereas the Surface RT is less than 10. And that makes a big difference, as does the extra half-pound of weight on the Surface Pro. It's not terribly uncomfortable in both hands if you're using it on your lap, but you absolutely can't use this device in one hand and it's really not very comfortable to stand and hold. Part of the reason the Surface Pro is so much thicker is the ventilation strip running around all four edges of the device, which is what's used to cool the more powerful Intel processor. That adds a little bit of a gap around all of the edges, so it's not quite as unibody feeling as the Surface RT, but it still looks fine. One thing you gain in exchange for the extra heft is a gorgeous 10.6-inch 1080p display. It looks amazing. It's one of the best screens I've ever seen. It has basically perfect color reproduction, ridiculous viewing angles, and it's incredibly responsive. The Pro has 10 points of multitouch and they actually work great. The Surface RT for some reason only had 5 points of multitouch, and I found myself using more than 5 fingers a lot more often than I thought. The Surface Pro also comes with a pen, a capacitive stylus that actually works really well on the device. It's made by Wacom and is just a nice addition to a device like this. It's not something you'll use all the time, but it's great for drawing or taking notes or scribbling on a screenshot. The pen attaches to the side of the Surface, so you theoretically won't lose it, but it falls off every single time you put the device in your bag. So a few things have changed, but the basic idea of the Surface hasn't, and that's really my biggest problem with this device. The kickstand only opens at one angle, which means you have to sit just right to use it properly, and it's absolutely impossible to use propped up on your lap. It just falls off every single time. It still connects to the touch cover and type cover, which are okay. I've really grown to like the type cover, but I still think the touch cover is as much a gimmick as anything else. They hold firmly to the magnet, though, and work just as you'd expect if you've used a Surface RT. I have some real issues with the entire Surface concept, but I will say this. If you want a Surface, this is the one to get, and it's not even close. The Surface RT had some real performance issues, and it couldn't run all the apps we wanted anyway. But the Surface Pro has no such problem. It absolutely flies. Whether you're switching between a dozen apps or just swiping around the interface, it's basically flawless. It's really the best proof I've seen yet that Windows 8 is a fully finished operating system. This isn't a gaming PC, of course. It's more like an Ultrabook in that way, but it works fantastically well in everyday use. As I mentioned, this is full-fledged Windows 8, so you get access to the whole Microsoft store as well as to all your legacy Windows apps. Unfortunately, though, the Surface Pro doesn't come with a working copy of Office pre-installed like the Surface RT. That you'll have to buy separately. The Surface Pro does all of these things pretty silently, too, without many problems. If I hold it up to my ear, I can hear the whirring of the fans coming out of the vent, but otherwise it's quiet enough. It does get a little warm, but not so much as to be a problem. Like a lot of Ultrabooks we've seen, the Surface Pro runs an Intel Core i5 processor with 4 gigs of RAM and 64 or 128 gigs of storage. You should definitely get the bigger model, by the way, because the base installation of Windows right out of the box takes up 41 gigabytes of space. All the internals do make the Surface Pro bigger and heavier, but the really significant trade-off is the battery life. The Surface Pro's battery lasted just shy of four hours on our battery tests, which is considerably below average for a laptop. For a device that pretends to be something like a tablet, it's terrible. But all that said, here's the thing about the Surface Pro. It's the best Surface by a long shot, but I'm less and less convinced that you want a Surface in the first place. If you want a device that you can move relatively easily from desk to desk, this is a good one. It's fast and powerful, and still lighter and more portable than most laptops out there. And make no mistake, this is a laptop. But it's absolutely useless as a literal laptop, as a device you use on your lap. It's fine when you use it as a tablet, but I spend a lot of time sitting on my couch, feet up on the coffee table, working on my MacBook Air, and that's just completely impossible on the Surface Pro. I like the Surface Pro, and I'm impressed that Microsoft built such a powerful machine and such a handsome, simple body. But if you're in the market for a tablet, this isn't that at all. And if you're in the market for a laptop, your $900 is probably better spent elsewhere, at least until Microsoft figures out how to make the Surface usable away from your desk.