My 2 cents ...
While mgmueller may have been using a little hyperbole, I think he is closer to the truth. For many people -- not all but a good
many such as myself-- a tablet just can't provide the power or versatility to handle the most intensive tasks I do frequently on a normal laptop. For example --
- Writing and editing text for long periods of time
- Managing and photoshopping photos
- Managing and converting eBooks
- Managing and converting music files
Some of this is for work, and some of this is for pleasure, but regardless, they are all critical tasks for me and I just can't do any of it on any normal tablet.
This is why I find the Windows Surface Pro intriguing. Months ago I tested the keyboard at a store and it works really well and feels really good. However, if I get one of these hybrid tablet/PCs, it's likely to be something like the new Asus T100. It costs less than half the price of the Surface Pro, so that 4 years after you buy it, you have less to worry about when the battery is nearly dead. With the Surface Pro, it would cost me $1000+ to get a decent setup and the battery can't even be replaced by Microsoft. I can't afford to throw away that type of money every 3-4 years.
Tablets are really great and they are better for some things than PCs or laptops -- like watching movies or reading digital media. But they can't run lots of programs like Photoshop, Adobe Acrobat, iTunes, OneNote, Foobar2000, Calibre and Sigil. So that's why they can't come close to replacing a regular PC. Or why I would never even consider a Chromebook.
--Pat