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Apparently the released version of the Microsoft Surface version this week isn’t the full version.

The version now is more like a tablet (example: Apple iPad) with an app store. This means it cannot do productivity stuff yet. But according to this video the 2013 version will be running Windows 8 (think next version of Windows 7) which means you can install some if not all programs you use on a notebook or PC computer. It can do this because of the higher end processor, Intel verses the ARM in the just released Surface.

It seems this approach is new but Acer, NEC and others already put out a computer running Windows OS that doubles to work like a tablet. The difference is the new slimmer Surface version which will be more like an iPad tablet with its own app store, something which Microsoft has been loosing out to Apple, Google and Amazon.

The Windows 8 will also look very much like Windows 7 but without the iconic Start Button on the bottom left. This will be replaced by the Surface Mode tiles-like interface or Modern UI which is what the Surface lite looks like.

To be honest this dual mode – Surface and Windows mode – should not be a big hurdle for most. If you know Windows 7 now you will just need to get used to your menu looking like tiles. Or if you are someone young growing on tablets then using the Surface Mode will be natural but to swap over to the Windows 8 PC-like mode needs be just learning to sit in front of a computer. That computer will more than likely be a Windows anyway.

If you ask me this seems a smart move by Microsoft. Some call it a gamble but if all else fails they still have Windows 8. People still need to work on PCs for productivity is what we need them for so either way Microsoft, to this writer, seems the winner.