It's not a no-compromises device, the whole thing is a portablity/power tradeoff. I'm happy with the result; moving from a 5+ pound laptop that I lugged around

It's not a no-compromises device, the whole thing is a portablity/power tradeoff. I'm happy with the result; moving from a 5+ pound laptop that I lugged around in a bag or left behind to a 2 pound one that I don't mind carrying around everywhere and using as a main workstation has been a nice change. The big downside is limited customizability, I would put a much larger SSD in it if it were at all feasible. I just keep the stuff I don't use often on a server or an external USB drive. Using it on your lap isn't as awkward as it would seem. I'm a largish guy so I'm sure it looks preposterous tapping away at this tiny thing perched on my knees but it works just fine, although the flexible keyboard sounds like a bongo when I type on anything but a firm surface. You can also flip down the stand and use it unfolded 180° so you get your choice of two whole screen angles. In a pinch pen input is sufficient for writing an email or filling out a webform, or you can scribble freehand notes and transcribe them later. The RAM hasn't been an issue. I haven't found any software that truly needs more than 4G of RAM, and the fast SSD makes swapping/not caching disk not a big deal. I don't think I'd want to take the battery life hit of a ton of RAM even if it were upgradeable. If there were one thing I could add to the Surface Pro 2 wishlist it would be built in LTE, having to carry around a USB dongle or drain the hell out of my cellphone to get connectivity in places with no wi-fi is a drag. Reliable connectivity would also make the scarce disk space less annoying.