That's the problem with so many"hybrid"devices,isn't it?Sometimes when you try to do too many things you end up doing them all badly.
Will it be a crappy tablet and a crappy PC?Time will tell but going strictly by the reviews I wouldn't consider dropping that much cash just yet.
Yep same for me too, until the technology allows a hybrid device with 16gb ram, 512 gb ssd, 10 hour+ battery etc I'll view it as too much of a compromise. That's just me obviously, for others the compromise of a hybrid might well be outweighed by the advantages of an all in one unit that doesn't detract with their own usage of the device.
I still can't help feeling that hybrids will become a niche product and that includes Surface. I don't buy into the 'endism' that lazy technology journalists love to role out. Laptops are not going anywhere, they'll most likely adopt some of the successful properties of new technology e.g. touch screens from tablets but will continue to form a significant market share.
Ultimately the tablet is a different paradigm from the laptop and the form factor of both have their respective advantages. One of the reasons that laptops significantly replaced desktop devices for many is that the user interface paradigm is largely the same despite the differing form factor. This isn't true with tablets. Steve Jobs put it best by describing desktops and notebooks as ultimately ending up as the trucks on the highway.
It's why Windows 8 is doomed to failure, it has many positive features but the attempt to force a single user experience across multiple paradigms is a compromise too far.