Microsoft still isn’t divulging official Surface numbers, but it looks like it’s at least making a (tiny) dent in the tablet market.

Microsoft shipped 900,000 Surface tablets for the first quarter, accounting for 1.8 percent of the tablet market, according to IDC’s latest tablet numbers. Altogether, Windows 8 and RT tablet shipments across all manufacturers hit 1.8 million during the quarter.

Those numbers are slightly less than Strategy Analytics’ latest figures, which noted that 3 million Windows tablets were shipped for the quarter. The true numbers likely lie somewhere between those two figures.

While Microsoft is clearly just getting started with the Surface devices, its numbers seem particularly poor compared to Apple’s 19.5 million iPads shipped in Q1, as well as Samsung’s 8.8 million units shipped. Surface shipments were likely hurt by their limited availability and the late release of the Surface Pro, which started shipping in February in the U.S. and Canada.

PC shipments also dropped precipitously in the first quarter, and IDC wasn’t shy about blaming Windows 8 for the decline.

The Surface Pro made up most of the Surface units shipped, according to Strategy Analytics. I found the Pro to be a far more useful device than the Surface RT, mostly due to its speedy Intel processor (which can also run older Windows programs).

In addition to running companies, most CEOs have mastered a greater, more common art: giving lengthy interviews wherein they say nothing at all.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is an exception to that, or at least he was in his recent interview with MIT Technology Review. His most interesting view? He doesn’t foresee the Surface taking over the world.

“In an environment in which there’s 350 million PCs sold, I don’t think Surface is going to dominate volume, but it’s a real business,” he said in the interview.

Ballmer’s view, while obvious to anyone who’s ever used the Surface (or pays attention to PC sales numbers), is a refreshingly realistic take on the situation that the Surface finds itself in. While shrinking, the PC market is huge, and the Surface is just a tiny part of it. Ballmer is really just trying to temper expectations.

But the mission behind the Surface is greater than just raking in cash for Microsoft. From the beginning, the device was meant to serve as an example for Microsoft’s hardware partners, who have had a mixed track record with the transition to Windows 8.

Essentially, the Surface is central to Microsoft’s position at the center of the Windows PC market — regardless of how well the device itself sells.

Photo: Devindra Hardawar/VentureBeat

Microsoft’s new Surface Pro tablet PC is a steady improvement over the Surface RT, but the thing is extremely hard to repair, according to a new iFixit teardown.

The Surface Pro is Microsoft’s more powerful and versatile tablet/laptop hybrid, but supply issues have marred its debut. Microsoft has promised more 128GB units will be available by Saturday. It runs $899 for the 64GB version and $999 for the 128GB model.

While there aren’t that many Surface Pros available, the repair experts at iFixit got their hands on a unit so they could open it up and examine its build. The team found that the device was extremely hard to repair, and gave it a 1 out of 10 “repairability score,” the worst result possible.

One huge problem iFixit found is if you do not open the case perfectly, you will almost certainly break one of the four cables surrounding the display. So there’s a good chance you’ll break the damn thing just from trying to peek inside or trying to fix a minor issue.

Here are the big takeaways iFixit noted on the Surface Pro:

• Microsoft Surface Pro Repairability Score: 1 out of 10 (10 is easiest to repair)
  
• The battery is not soldered to the motherboard, so at least no soldering is required to replace it.
• The SSD is removable — but you risk killing your tablet by trying to open it.
• More than 90 screws are inside this device. We’re proponents of mechanical fasteners, but this number is a tad crazy.
• The display assembly (comprising of a fused glass and LCD) is extremely difficult to remove/replace.
• Tons of adhesive hold everything in place, including the display and battery.
• Unless you perform the opening procedure 100 precent correctly, chances are you’ll shear one of the four cables surrounding the display perimeter.

Check out the photos below for a few more looks inside the Surface Pro:

Just hours after becoming available in the U.S. at Microsoft’s online store, the tablets are shown as out of stock. While frustrating for shoppers, this is a good sign for Microsoft whose first surface tablet was rather disappointing.

VentureBeat reviewed the Surface Pro last week and found marked improvement over the Surface RT. This tablet has an Intel processor and can run the full version of Windows 8, as older versions of the software. The positive reviews evidently filtered down to consumers, who got straight to buying once the merchandise became available.

The 128GB model costs $1000 and the 64GB costs $899, with touch/type covers sold separately. The Pros are likely still available in brick-and-mortar retailers like Best Buy.

With blizzard Nemo bearing down on the East Coast, Mother Nature is showing once again that consumer technology is on her hit list.

Topping that list is Microsoft, which intended to show off the Surface Pro at a launch event in New York City today. Mother Nature, however, had other plans.

“Surface Pro launch activities in NYC have been cancelled due to weather; our best wishes for everyone impacted by the blizzard,” Microsoft said in a statement.

A similar fate befell Google in October, when Superstorm Sandy forced the company to cancel the press event for its Nexus 10 tablet and Nexus 4 smartphone.

So, does Mother Nature have it in for the gadget companies of the world? Probably not. But both the Google and Microsoft event do have something else in common — New York City. As the biggest city in the world, New York is an obvious target for big product unveilings, but it’s clearly also a target for rather inconvenient storms.

Perhaps Microsoft and Google should learn from Apple and host all their big events in California, far from the cold, damp mess known as the East Coast. They’d certainly have to cancel fewer events that way.

One of the juiciest: Surface Pro is able to run other operating systems than the default Windows 8.

Reddit user Nygmatic asked the question:

For the Surface Pro….is the boot loader unlocked? Can I do what I want with my (potential) property? Or am I locked in to Windows 8?

Microsoft’s first Surface tablet was all about disappointing compromise, but the new Surface Pro is full of possibility.

It has an Intel processor, so it can actually run older Windows software. It features a sharp 1080p display that makes text, pictures, and movies pop. And it has has a stylus pen … for some reason.

The Surface Pro ($899 for the 64GB version, $999 for the 128GB model) isn’t perfect, but it comes much closer to Microsoft’s initial vision of the Surface as a machine that can serve as both a fully functional laptop and a solid tablet. Unlike the Surface RT, released just a few months ago, it’s more than just a heavy tablet in a PC’s clothing.

While testing the Surface Pro over the past week, I often forgot that I was using an entirely new type of computing device. It simply felt like a fast Windows 8 laptop. And while it’s far less transparent when used as a tablet, mostly due to its weight, the Surface Pro still worked well enough for casual usage while on the couch or in bed.

It’s close to the no-compromise device I was looking for when I reviewed the Surface RT — though we’re not quite there yet.

The Good: Fast, flexible, and polished

The high points of the Surface RT also apply to the Surface Pro. It features the same polished design, a case made out of a durable metal called VaporMG, and a kickstand that pops out with a satisfying thunk. I was shocked at how well-constructed the earlier Surface RT was, and the Surface Pro gave me the same impression, albeit with a bit more heft.

The Surface Pro weighs just under 2 pounds, compared to the Surface RT’s 1.5 pounds, but the slightly greater weight comes with a payoff; it’s a far more functional machine. The Surface Pro sports a third-generation Intel Core i5 processor running at 1.7GHz, along with 4GB RAM. That’s a huge step above the Surface RT’s Tegra 3 processor and 2GB RAM, and it shows.

Even though it has the same 10.6-inch screen size, the Surface Pro features a much higher-resolution 1080p display than its predecessor. That means it can run HD movies at their highest resolution, and it also makes just about everything on the screen extra sharp. The screen also supports multitouch with up to 10 fingers, while the previous Surface only supported five.

A dream to use

Launching programs, moving around the OS, and opening large media files was buttery smooth with the Surface Pro. For the most part, it managed to keep up with my typical workflow, which involves having several browsers open with dozens of tabs, a media program (Spotify, these days), and an instant messaging client (typically Trillian). In comparison, the Surface RT struggled to launch processor-intensive apps, and its paltry amount of RAM made multitasking a pain.

The Surface RT never quite fit into my workflow because it could only run Windows 8 apps — not so with the Surface Pro. Its Intel processor means it can run any Windows application that ran on Windows 7. I was able to run browsers other than Internet Explorer (there’s still no Chrome or Firefox version for Windows RT), and I even installed iTunes for fun. The freedom and flexibility of the Surface Pro made the limitations of the Surface RT seem even more egregious in retrospect.

Gamers will also appreciate the horsepower behind the Surface Pro, as it’s capable of playing a lot more than just Angry Birds. I installed Valve’s Steam client and was able to pull down Half-Life 2: Episode Two in around 15 minutes. The game took about 20 seconds to launch, and loading the first chapter took only around 12 seconds. That’s about on par with my giant desktop, which has a modern Nvidia GTX 560 video card and a three-year old quad-core processor.

I was able to play Episode Two smoothly at 720p with midrange graphics settings, which was more than adequate for the Surface’s screen size. That’s pretty impressive for a computer with only integrated graphics capabilities. (Going up to full 1080p gaming is perhaps asking for too much: At that setting, Episode Two was playable, but with a low framerate.)

The Surface Pro’s battery life was comparable with other ultraportables, lasting around five hours on a full charge. It’s paltry compared to tablets like the iPad, which typically get around ten hours of usable battery life, but the difference is understandable given the Pro’s size and horsepower.

Ultimately, I was impressed at what I was able to do with the Surface Pro. It’s particularly impressive that it’s lighter than Apple’s 11-inch MacBook Air, which at 2.4 pounds is one of the lightest ultraportables around. This is where the Surface’s dual identity comes in handy: It may be hefty for a tablet, but it’s a featherweight dream when compared to other ultraportables.

I’ve been hesitant to recommend any tablet as a PC replacement so far, but the Surface Pro’s capability to offer the best of a complete PC while also dabbing in tablet territory could make it the only computing device some may need.

The bad: Even more awkward as a tablet

I’m no fan of big tablets, and the Surface Pro is by far the biggest tablet I’ve come across yet. It’s far too heavy to hold one-handed (even for short periods), and its wide screen makes it awkward to balance as well. In a time when we have small tablets like the iPad Mini weighing in at .68 pounds and roughly the size of a paperback, the Surface Pro feels like a dictionary.

But I suppose that’s the price you pay for including the hardware necessary to make it a functional Windows 8 ultraportable as well. I was disappointed in the Surface RT because it felt mostly like a tablet. But because the Surface Pro feels more like an ultraportable, its tablet deficiencies seem less egregious. Eventually, I got used to holding it on my lap or knee for casual web browsing.

When it comes to its size, the Surface Pro sits in a space all by itself right now: It’s lighter than other ultraportables, but far heavier than other tablets. That makes it easy fodder for gadget geeks who want the Surface to fail, but I see it more as a sign that Microsoft is actually daring to be different than the crowd.

I didn’t spend much time with the Surface Pro’s stylus pen, mostly because there wasn’t much of a compelling reason to use it. It’s helpful for doodling in image editing apps, but I’ll never get used to taking handwritten notes on glass screens (sorry, Galaxy Note fans). It was particularly useful for navigating Windows apps that weren’t optimized for touchscreens, though I don’t think that was Microsoft’s intent.

The Windows 8 problem: Apps and stability

Windows 8 apps aren’t exactly helping the Surface Pro’s tablet standing either. Microsoft has managed to get a decent selection of Windows 8 apps, but there’s nothing that feels truly groundbreaking or inspired. I spent most of my time with the Surface Pro inside of the desktop environment running older Windows apps.

Microsoft also has some work to do when it comes to the Surface Pro’s stability. It would occasionally get stuck in portrait mode, and on several occasions, the Surface failed to recognize the touch and type keyboards. Rebooting fixed most of the issues I ran into, but I also had a few blue screen crashes when repeatedly plugging and unplugging the keyboards. (At least Windows 8’s blue screen of death has a frowny face. Upgrade!)

The verdict: This is the Surface you’ve been waiting for

For all of its failures as a pure tablet, the Surface Pro is a compelling offering as an ultraportable/tablet hybrid. The Surface RT gave us a mere glimpse at the future of computing, but the Surface Pro’s combination of power and flexibility brings it right to your fingertips.

It may not be for everyone, but it’s worth serious consideration if you’re looking at Windows 8 ultrabooks. I have a feeling we’ll look back at the Surface Pro as the first time Microsoft’s Surface dream was more reality than hype.

For once, the future seems bright for Microsoft.

Additional takeaways:

• I wrote this entire review on the Surface Pro using the Type Cover (which has mechanical keys) something that I found impossible to accomplish on the Surface RT due to a keyboard bug. I was able to type as quickly as I usually do, and I didn’t notice any significant increase in typos.
• On the other hand, I’m still no fan of the Touch Cover (whose pressure-sensitive keys are embossed into the surface) — I used it to take notes during an interview and was left with complete gibberish.
• Yes, the title of this review was taken from John Woo’s seminal crime drama A Better Tomorrow.

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

If Microsoft wants to win in 2013, it needs to win in the mobile realm. That much is clear. But how does it take the crown from the likes of Apple and Google?

While Microsoft wouldn’t explicitly tell me about its plans for 2013 or generally talk about what it wants to accomplish, there is a lot we can glean from looking at what Microsoft did in 2012 and from the company’s previous statements. I’ve also talked to two experts who have kept close tabs on Microsoft’s product strategy over the years.

Here are three big things Microsoft will focus on in 2013:

Tablets, tablets, tablets

With the launch of the Surface RT and the Surface Pro, it’s clear Microsoft wants to be part of the tablet conversation. Microsoft was actually one of the first players in tablets back in the early 2000s, but the market shrugged off its efforts. Now that Apple’s iPad and Android tablets like the Nexus 7 have come to dominate the slate space and PC sales are falling off, Microsoft wants to get back in the tablet game.

“Microsoft will place a do-not-fail priority on tablets in 2013,” Forrester infrastructure and operations analyst David Johnson told me.

Johnson does not expect Microsoft to release its own smartphone hardware this year, so tablets will get full priority. Besides making Surface better, he said the other big priority will be making Windows RT lighter and better.

“I’d expect RT to be the focus for now, but they could do an entirely new tablet OS as well if that doesn’t work out,” Johnson said.

Office 365 and Office 2013

Another major tool in Microsoft’s belt is Office. Outside of Windows OS and Windows Server, Office has been the most important product in the company’s history. The latest version of the productivity suite for consumers just hit the market this week, and it’s actually quite nice.

Microsoft is pushing its Office 365 subscription service, which runs $100 per year, as the best deal you can get. A subscription to Office 365 lets you install five copies on your PCs or Macs and deeply connects to the cloud to back up your documents. Office 365 also gets you Office on Demand, which lets you stream a copy of Office to any Windows 7 or 8 PC and doesn’t count toward your number of installs. There’s also a version for students — Office 365 University, which costs $80 for four years of use.

The new versions of Office 365 and 2013 are more touch-friendly, so it’s somewhat better suited for tablets and touch-screen laptops. The most basic version of the latest Office comes pre-installed on the Surface RT tablet and will be able to be installed on the Surface Pro tablet, which hits stores on Feb. 9. A mobile version of Office also comes pre-installed on Windows Phone devices, one of the biggest selling points for that OS.

There have been perpetual rumors that Microsoft will release native Office apps for iOS and Android some time this year. But Microsoft has routinely denied these rumors.

“It’s not certain, but I’m betting on Office for iOS and Android,” Johnson said. “Enterprises won’t be proactively buying Surface Pros. Employees might not want to buy Surfaces, but they could buy iPads for work.”

Avi Greengart, research director for consumer devices at Current Analysis, also believes iOS and Android apps for Office are on the way.

“If Microsoft doesn’t put Office on those platforms, it risks losing that franchise,” Greengart said. “It’s also important for Microsoft to develop a more touch-friendly version of Office for Windows tablets. The version today is not there yet.”

Windows 8 and Windows Phone apps

The third pillar for Microsoft’s mobile success in 2013 will be apps built for Windows 8 and Windows Phone that help get people better interested in those platforms. Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 together have millions of users, and the two even share a kernel so it’s easier to develop for both platforms at the same time.

“It’s all about apps,” Johnson said. “Apps on Windows Phone are good, but they’re not quite as complete as iOS and Android apps. 2013 will see a big push on app development.”

Windows 8 especially needs apps to get people excited about tablets like Surface and hybrid laptops like the Lenovo Thinkpad Helix or Samsung’s ATIV Smart PCs running that OS. A number of good applications already exist for Windows 8, but will the company invest further to make Windows 8 a must-have OS?

And better apps on Windows Phone certainly wouldn’t hurt either. Windows Phone sales haven’t been particularly impressive, but they could get better with smart productivity apps and imaginative Xbox games. Hell, the success of Microsoft’s Xbox console could arguably be traced back to exclusive titles like Halo and Halo 2, so why not have an exclusive set of games on Windows Phone to help turn heads?

Greengart thinks Microsoft needs to bring an exclusive Halo game to Windows Phone and improve the overall presence of Xbox on Windows Phone.

“Game exclusives could drive adoption of the Windows Phone platform,” Greengart said. “Why isn’t there a Halo application for Windows Phone? Where are the games that are branded with more than just your Xbox Live avatar? These issues need to be addressed.”

What do you think will drive Microsoft’s mobile destiny in 2013?

Steve Ballmer photo via Sean Ludwig/VentureBeat

Microsoft sold a paltry number of Surface tablets in the last quarter — somewhere between 680,000 and 750,000 units — research firm IHS iSuppli told CNet.

The firm estimates that Microsoft shipped around 1.25 million Surface tablets in the quarter, which makes the low sales figure even more depressing for Microsoft. Additionally, IHS iSupply noted that return rates for the Surface were “very high.” (Those return rates aren’t surprising, given how much the Surface disappointed me in my review.)

“If you put the high return rate together with low sell-through [sales out] rate, that’s indicative of a problem,” iSuppli analyst Rhoda Alexander told CNet. She pointed to the steep learning curve of Windows 8 as one potential issue. I’d wager that many consumers have also been frustrated by the inability to install normal Windows apps, and the small number of Windows 8 apps available.

While the sales estimates aren’t exactly rosy for Microsoft, Alexander also notes that they’re similar to the results from some Android devices. (That’s not exactly a good thing, since most Android devices don’t sell well.) She also points out that the Kindle Fire had similar issues when it launched — but it has since gone on to carve out a decent chunk of the tablet market.

With the Surface Pro tablets on the horizon, which have Intel processors and can run full Windows apps, Microsoft may need to work hard to entice consumers who weren’t interested in the Surface RT.

If you like to get your money’s worth out of your purchases, it’s best to stay far away from the 64GB Surface Pro.

Microsoft is confirming to various news outlets today what we’ve for so long feared: In terms of free storage, the Surface Pro is a really bad deal.

Owners of the device will be left with a paltry 23GB of usable space after the installation of system files and onboard apps, which together take up over 60 percent of the device’s 64GB. 

While the situation is a bit better with the 128GB Surface Pro (which leaves users with 83GB of storage), the 64GB model’s numbers are actually worse than those of the 32 GB Surface, which only offers 16GB of useable storage.

Microsoft isn’t alone here, of course, as just about every device ships with less storage space than advertised. The problem is that the Surface Pro takes that trend to a more troubling extreme: $800 for 23GB of usable space is simply an awful deal for consumers.

To rectify the problem, Microsoft recommends that Surface Pro owners turn to things like USB storage, microSD cards, and SkyDrive. Those solutions, however, don’t address the all-too-clear reality: Microsoft is misleading customers by advertising one product and selling them something very different.

Microsoft’s soon-to-be-released Windows 8-running Surface Pro may cost an internal organ plus a year’s servitude, but price relief — at least on other Windows 8 tablets — sounds like it’s coming soon.

“We’re working closely with chip partners and OEMs to bring the right mix of devices,” Microsoft’s chief financial officer Peter Klein said today on the company’s earnings call, adding that Microsoft is looking to “expand the product lineup” and provide “a greater variety of devices at a bigger variety of price points.”

Surface Pro, which Microsoft plans to release Feb. 9, comes in $900 and $1,000 versions. The original Surface, which runs a stripped-down version of Windows called RT, is available in $500 and $600 models.

“We think of Surface as one part of the overall Windows 8 story,” Klein said. “It highlights interesting innovation, and demonstrates tightly integrated software and hardware.”

Klein admitted that Surface has seen “limited distribution this quarter,” but he said that Microsoft’s “goal is to expand that” and is looking “forward to continuing the growth of that business.” Unfortunately, Microsoft did not break out any details on Surface sales in its earning release or the following conference call for analysts, preferring to speak mainly in generalities.

But analyst estimates of Surface sales for the holiday quarter have been in the 600,000 to 1,000,000 range … or about 3 percent of Apple’s sales of iPads in its recent record-breaking quarter. In other words, Microsoft desperately needs more models and better price points: A Surface Pro can cost more than a MacBook Pro, or double what many Windows 8 laptops run.

It wasn’t clear from Klein’s initial comments whether Microsoft itself might release more Surface models to potentially fill lower price points, or only work with OEMs. A Microsoft spokesperson I talked to after the call clarified that Microsoft is primarily addressing any need for lower price points on Windows tablets by working with OEMs.

Klein did not, however, reveal any timing for the announcement and release of new models.

photo credit: methodshop.com via photopin cc

Microsoft’s full-featured Surface Pro tablet finally has a release date: Feb. 9.

Launching three months after the original Surface (and later than Microsoft initially announced), the Surface Pro is supposed to be the more powerful alternative to its Windows RT-based counterpart. Equipped with a 10.6-inch screen, the Surface Pro’s best feature is actually on the inside: It can run legacy Windows applications.

The trade-offs? Those features mean that the Surface Pro is both thicker and heavier than the Surface. And with a starting price of $900, it’s more expensive, too — and that’s before you add extras like the $130 Type Cover. The 128GB Surface Pro runs for $1,000.

Unlike the original Surface, however, the Surface Pro isn’t meant as a entry-level consumer device (that’s the “Pro” part), which should make it easier for consumers to accept its price. For a lot of people, it’s the version of the Surface Microsoft should have started with.

Microsoft is planning a phased release for the Surface Pro, which will land first in the U.S. and Canada and elsewhere over the following weeks and months.

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Intel’s quest for greater processor energy efficiency could soon extend to its Ivy Bridge chips.

CNET reports that Intel is looking to slash the power consumption of its latest processors, even as it’s developing its next generation 10-watt Haswell chips.

While the Ivy Bridge chips are currently rated at a pretty efficient 17 watts, Intel could shave that consumption even further, making the processor a far more compelling choice for mobile devices.

The report makes a lot of sense seeing as how Microsoft already uses an Ivy Bridge processor in the Surface Pro. But while Ivy Bridge ups the Surface Pro’s processing power, it also slashes its battery life: Microsoft estimates that the Surface Pro will stay alive roughly half as long as its ARM processor-equipped counterpart.

And that’s exactly why today’s report is such a big deal.

Cutting the power consumption of its processors means Intel’s products automatically become more attractive for manufacturers looking to improve their devices’ battery life. And seeing as Intel is still largely floundering in the mobile market, any attempt to get into more devices is a big deal for the future of the company.

The 64 gigabyte Surface Pro (as it’s commonly called) will run you $900 for the 64-gigabyte version, and $1,000 for the 128 GB model, Microsoft announced today. Both will be available in January and will come with a Surface Pen. Unfortunately, the pricing doesn’t include a Surface Touch Cover or Type Cover, which will cost an additional $120 and $130, respectively.

Unlike the Surface RT, which can only run new apps from the Windows 8 Store thanks to its ARM processor, the Surface Pro is no different than a typical Windows 8 laptop. It sports a Core i5 Intel processor, allowing it to run existing software for Windows 7 and prior versions of the OS. It also sports a high-resolution 1080p display, a USB 3.0 port, and the same kickstand found in the Surface RT.

You’ll pay a slight weight cost for the Surface Pro’s versatility: It weighs about 2 pounds, compared to the Surface RT’s 1.5 pounds, and it’s slightly thicker. It also costs almost twice as much as the Surface RT, which starts at $500 (or $600 for the model that includes a Touch Cover). The difference, of course, is that the Surface Pro is a fully functional computer, unlike the slightly gimped Surface RT.

Compared to other Ultrabooks and ultraportables, the Surface RT has quite a bit going for it. It’s lighter than the 11-inch MacBook Air, has a higher resolution screen, and is priced about the same. We’ve seen some interesting Windows 8 Ultrabooks like the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga and HP’s Envy x2 hybrid, but the Surface’s unique design and keyboard covers makes it more intriguing.

Given that most of my frustrations around the Surface RT stemmed from its slow ARM processor and limited apps, I’m looking forward to testing out the Surface Pro. It could just be that no compromise computer of the future I’ve been waiting for.

Update: It looks like the Surface Pro will have around half of the Surface RT’s battery life — which should put the Pro at around 4 hours — according to the official Surface Twitter account.

@SethAbels Hi there! We expect Surface with Windows 8 Pro to have approximately half the battery life of Surface with Windows RT.—
Surface (@surface) November 29, 2012