So yesterday Microsoft released their first home grown entry into the tablet arena with Surface. A few thoughts after watching the presentation:

1) Having just come back from WWDC it’s quite entertaining to see how the presentation tried hard to have the fluidity of an Apple keynote and I must say I praise Microsoft for this approach. While they didn’t quite nail it, it was a good effort. A few bumps here and there but nothing too major.

2) While the hardware looks solid I didn’t get the same feel from watching them use the software. It seemed every swipe required a few attempts and wasn’t as responsive as it should be.

3) I like the keyboard cover.

4) I like how Microsoft FINALLY realizes that to make it today they need to control both the hardware and software and for a first attempt… not bad.

5) I’m intrigued that the Intel version of the Surface is geared more towards a tablet AND an ultra book when paired with the keyboard. A slight differentiation from an iPad which is more of an augment to a PC than a replacement.

I’ll definitely check it out once it’s available… first time I’ve been curious about a Microsoft product in quite some time.

Very curious about pricing. My gut feeling is that it will gain some traction but will have some drawbacks which is expected for a first run but would be fine tuned in future releases.

Interesting times…