Poll: Who makes the best Surface computer?

To most people, facial tissues are Kleenex, painkillers are Aspirin, and robotic vacuums are Roombas. And if Microsoft has its way, soon those folding, twisting, disassembling hybrids that can be fashioned into a tablet or laptop will simply be known by the genericized term of “Surface.”

It doesn’t matter that Microsoft didn’t invent the 2-in-1 category. Apple didn’t invent the tablet, either, nor did it invent the MP3 player. But that didn’t stop NFL announcers from calling the Surface Pro 2 an iPad, or your parents calling their old Samsung Yepp an iPod. Once you break through into the mainstream you get to rewrite product history. (Anecdotally, we’re four games into the new season, and I’ve yet to hear an NFL announcer refer to the Surface Pro 3 as an iPad.)