Surface: Companion device or PC replacement?

Closing Statements

More portable PCs

Zack Whittaker

Tablets are not only capable devices but in many cases they offer nearly if not all of the functionality that PCs offer, just with greater portability. For the Surface in particular, it's geared more towards the enterprise and business user, while retaining that 'fun' element for bring-your-own-device (BYOD) employees.

Whether you are an iPad fan, a Surface user, or a Nexus owner -- or any other tablet for that matter -- the vast majority of what we do on a daily basis, whether at work or at home, can be done on a tablet. However, despite my argument that the Surface (and other tablets) are good enough to replace the traditional PC, the rest of the market has yet to accept this fact. This means that while many PC-only elements are slowly making their way to tablets -- such as business, productivity, or enterprise solutions -- in many cases they're not quite there yet.

PC is still king

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

The truth is that while Microsoft's Surface tablet is by no means ready to replace the PC, the truth is that no tablet -- not even the iPad -- is ready to take on that role. The problem isn't the form factor, or the power of the device, or even the operating system, but instead to the overall maturity of the platform. While it is easy to think that tablets are at the cutting-edge of technology, they haven't had anywhere near the time that the PC has had to be refined.

Tablet are, without a doubt, the future of the PC. I can see a day -- not that far in the future -- when a tablet will be powerful enough to double as a PC, and we'll plug it into a dock connected to a larger screen, keyboard, and mouse when we want the benefits of a desktop system. We already have tablets that can transform into notebooks, so the next logical step is to have tablets that can transform into desktop systems.

If Microsoft remains committed to Surface beyond Windows 8 -- and right now, it's hard to tell if that commitment is there -- then the Surface platform will evolve over time and could be well positioned to shape the future of tablet computing.

Five years from now, the boundaries between the tablet and the PC will have blurred to the point where there will be little or no distinction between the two, but for now the PC is still the king.

The real winner is us

Andrew Nusca

They may have fought tooth-and-nail, but these Brits are a lot closer in position than they think. Nonetheless, I declare Mr. Kingsley-Hughes the winner of this debate for making the most compelling and nuanced argument. No matter how good today's tablets can be, they're still ill-equipped to do what we do best here at ZDNet: work.

Tablets have made significant inroads in the home where computing is occasional and lightweight (except for you, telecommuters). And they're fantastic for roving executives of all stripes, whether for presentations or correspondence or monitoring. When push comes to shove, though, certain types of productivity still rule on the PC. (For example, I'd never dare to engage in interface design with a tiny tablet and my pudgy finger.) That's why we still use the PC, and that's why the term "companion device" exists in the first place.

I look forward to a time when I can do everything my work day requires on a tablet or similar -- the day when my trusty PC becomes the companion device. For a lucky few of you, that's already happened. Until cubicle emancipation truly catches on, however, the PC still rules. A desk job requires a desk tool.

But let's not forget: the real winner in this scenario is us. Between the phone, tablet and PC, we can now compute on-the-go, standing still and sitting down. All Microsoft and its peers need to worry about is being in all of the places we seek to work and play. (No pressure, guys.)