Air doesn't have a touch screen or Wacom. Those things cost money. Also you can use Surface while standing (check maps, watch videos in public transport etc.).
Right - I understand the use case for both the Stylus, and PC Games (aka the "Penny Arcade" use case). I'm dubious about the reading while standing element - even the iPad is a bit cumbersome for that - you need something like the Kindle Fire/Samsung Phablets/iPad Mini for mobility it turns out.
I'm thinking about what your average knowledge worker who wants to just have an email/excel/terminal/browser tool would want on a business trip - I think if we took an unbiased sample of people, 75%+ would rather go with the Air for that particular use case than they would surface pro.
There is the catch - excluding the gaming/stylus scenario - people still need a laptop - Few "knowledge workers" go on a serious business trip with just an iPad except as an experiment (that usually works out poorly), and they aren't going to carry both a laptop and a surface pro to meetings with them - therefore - just a laptop.
The iPad (and better yet, the Mini/Kindle Fire) - are great for just kicking on the couch, the Subway, reading in bed when you don't want to lug a laptop (and power cable) around with you.
It remains to be seen - but I don't think the Surface is going to get overwhelming traction. Yes, it's a better laptop than the iPad - but the iPad / Mini /Kindle Fire is a better media-consumption tablet than the Surface.
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Air doesn't have a touch screen or Wacom. Those things cost money. Also you can use Surface while standing (check maps, watch videos in public transport etc.).
Right - I understand the use case for both the Stylus, and PC Games (aka the "Penny Arcade" use case). I'm dubious about the reading while standing element - even the iPad is a bit cumbersome for that - you need something like the Kindle Fire/Samsung Phablets/iPad Mini for mobility it turns out.
I'm thinking about what your average knowledge worker who wants to just have an email/excel/terminal/browser tool would want on a business trip - I think if we took an unbiased sample of people, 75%+ would rather go with the Air for that particular use case than they would surface pro.
There is the catch - excluding the gaming/stylus scenario - people still need a laptop - Few "knowledge workers" go on a serious business trip with just an iPad except as an experiment (that usually works out poorly), and they aren't going to carry both a laptop and a surface pro to meetings with them - therefore - just a laptop.
The iPad (and better yet, the Mini/Kindle Fire) - are great for just kicking on the couch, the Subway, reading in bed when you don't want to lug a laptop (and power cable) around with you.
It remains to be seen - but I don't think the Surface is going to get overwhelming traction. Yes, it's a better laptop than the iPad - but the iPad / Mini /Kindle Fire is a better media-consumption tablet than the Surface.