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Actually, the differences between RT and Pro are overblown right now.

For another article I am writing, I buzzed down to Best Buy and played with a Surface Pro 64GB for about half an hour. My first exposure to an RT Surface tablet was that the TR Live event in October, and I really didn't know how to navigate the OS or get the most from the platform, and I was underwhelemed.

But after several months playing with Windows 8 Pro, suddenly I can get around RT like a champ.

In this case, I wanted to confirm first hand a few things.

Mostly that, like Pro, RT can have two Modern-UI apps running split screen on the Start Screen while having multiple Classic apps open in the destkop.

Of course, it can. I was able to load PowerPoint, Excel and Word, plus the destkop Windows RT IE 10 and Windows Explorer, plus the Moder-UI weather app *and* Modern-UI IE 10 all at once. It was easy to flip back and forth between all of them.

All of the gestures and shortcuts I already knew worked faithfully in RT.

I've got news for Android and iOS users - this is MORE powerful multitasking than *either* of those platforms offer - multi-tasking far more like what you would experience on a full blown desktop OS. Corporate power users would be much better served by Wndows RT than by iOS or Android, once they got the hang of operating the new platform. Cutting and pasting from one app to another in Android is a chore. It is a simple process in Win 8, Pro or RT. That is just *one* example.

Now, don't misunderstand me - I'm not denying that RT is crippled compared to a full Windows 8 Pro system. IE 10 Classic can't load flash or any other plug-ins that I am aware of, you can't run real Windows IA apps. It is a low power, low heat, long battery life, instant on, solid state ARM device. If you're a professional in a Windows environment and you've got Windows on your desktop and you connect to Windows back-office systems and Windows front-end apps and you want a portable ARM device for the benefits that ARM brings, the RT is a no-brainer. The decision then comes down to if you want your ARM device to be primarily an extension of your professional life, or a personal BYOD device mostly for leisure and content-consumption that can do a LITTLE work here and there.

Depending on your answers, you've got 3 choices. If you're strongly focused on a Windows professional experience, then RT is your best bet. If you're strongly focused on a consumer experience, then iOS might work out better for you. If you're on the fence, right in the middle, you should give Android a look. They've all got their strengths and weaknesses, as I illustrate above.

But here is the thing, your argument above cherry-picks the argument. Windows RT can only do the most basic tasks and run a few desktop apps of Microsoft's chosing in comparison to Windows 8 Pro. Compared to Android and iOS, Windows RT is miles beyond what they're capable of if you're looking for these features. You literally compared Windows RT to Windows Pro and based on the fact that Windows RT is more limtied than Pro, concluded that it will "always lag behind Android and iOS".

"Because the BMW 1 series is just a repackaged Mini, and not an M3, it will always be inferior to the VW Bug and the Fiat 500."

See how that doesn't work? Maybe a crippled 1 series bimmer is still superior to a VW or Fiat. (This isn't necessarily the case, of course - just an example).

I think releasing RT first was a strategic mistake that confused consumers. I think they should have held off until Windows 8 Pro got a foot-hold and then released Windows RT as a device that compliments a Win8Pro Intel machine.

RT is now the victim of a lot of FUD, a lot of misinformation, a lot of misunderstanding - and may suffer a "Vista effect" due to bad press and word-of-mouth.

That would be too bad, because for the right kind of user, RT is clearly superior to Android and iOS.