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Hands On With Microsoft's Surface Book: Still A Tablet -- With A Great (Big) Keyboard

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The Microsoft Surface Book is a big, brawny tablet with a massive weight-balancing keyboard.

That's my singular impression after trying out Microsoft's newest take on the tablet-laptop hybrid.  But maybe most importantly it has solved the No.1 problem plaguing past Surface products: it can be used in your lap, just like a laptop.

Tablet vs. laptop: Needless to say, I tried typing with the Surface Book in my lap and indeed it behaved like a laptop. That's no small design feat with a 13.5-inch display that itself weighs 1.6 pounds (replete with electronics behind the screen). The whole package weighs over 3.3 pounds.  Microsoft's "dynamic fulcrum hinge" does a good job of keeping things steady: poke or press on the screen and it won't lose its balance and tip over backward (that's why a kickstand is sine qua non for the other Surface products). But, overall, it still feels like a tablet with a keyboard accessory. That said, the tablet itself (sans keyboard) is the best Microsoft has made yet. Detached from the keyboard base, it's remarkably light for its size and the 6-million-pixel display is stunning.

Keyboard base: This is one roomy keyboard. It's the largest keyboard I've ever seen on a hybrid. I could type rapidly on it almost immediately. That's a good sign. The trackpad is also spacious (Sorry, I'm running out of adjectives).  The upshot: be prepared for a keyboard that's very different than Surface tablet keyboards to date.

iPad Pro rival? The Surface Book will surely be compared by reviewers, consumers, and businesses to the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. I haven't had a chance to use the iPad Pro yet but I can say that in corporate accounts across America the Surface Book will offer stiff competition to any large-screen tablet or hybrid rival.  Of course, Windows 10 vs. iOS and Intel vs. Apple's A series chips also comes into play. But consumers, I think, will have a hard time warming to the Surface Book due to its starting price: $1,499 -- and have an easier time with the the iPad Pro, which starts at $799 plus $129 for Apple's Smart Keyboard.