Less than flattering reviews of Microsoft's Surface Pro tablet start to, uh, surface. Microsoft is starting to find out what Acer meant when it said that the hardware business is like "hard rice" and "is not so easy to eat." Yes, those are real quotes, albeit probably a rough translation. The point Acer has repeatedly tried to hammer home is that Microsoft has no business competing against its OEM partners, and that it should focus on software, not hardware. Initial reviews of the Surface Pro aren't likely to change Acer's opinion, but will they change Microsoft's? Steve Kovach at Business Insider said rather bluntly that "the Surface Pro is just like the first Surface except it's thicker, heavier, costs at least $400 more, and has about half the battery life. It looks like a tablet, but you can snap on an optional (but essential) keyboard cover that turns the Surface Pro into a pseudo-laptop. So why would anyone buy that?" He went on to conclude that Surface Pro falls into a "strange product category" that will only appeal to a small number of people "who want to try a funky form factor." That's the the polar opposite of a glowing endorsement, though far from the only negative review. David Pierce at The Verge found the form factor frustrating, though conceded that if you're planning to buy a Surface, buy a Surface Pro, and get the 128GB model. "But if you're going to buy a $900 tablet, get the decked-out iPad with LTE and 128GB of storage, and if you're going to buy a Wind
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