The point is as a tablet a nexus or Galaxy or iPad isn't a compromise.
As a tablet.
Trying to use one as a laptop IS a big compromise with a pissy Bluetooth keyboard.
Trying to use a 2 pound SP3 as a tablet is a pain and most definitely a compromise. I've tried a number of times and really the choice for use as a tablet in the Surface line is the Surface 2. At least it isn't too big or heavy. I would still prefer the iPad though due to design of the browser.
I would have to say that the iPad is a compromise for many use cases, but not all. For me the iPad frustrated me with its limitations: no USB connectivity and no hierarchical file system, so it was definitely a compromise for me to continue trying to use it because I needed it for things in addition to web browsing, email, watching a movie etc.. It was a slick piece of equipment even with its limitations. It had nothing to do with its size, browser, weight, keyboard or lack of same. It had nothing to do with having a tablet shape, a laptop shape, or for that matter a desktop shape. It had everything to do with functionality as I needed it. There are lots of Windows tablets these days that provide the functionality I need. I have an Asus T100 tablet that provides about everything I can think of in the way of functionality; however, my SP3 brings a bigger, better screen to the table along with a howling i5 processor, bigger drive and other amenities and refinements the T100 cannot provide - they are both tablets though. Because one is bigger or one weighs more doesn't change the definition for me of a tablet: one's just bigger and weighs...in the same ballpark as the T100 come to think of it, yet the T100 is smaller (10.1" screen with 16:9).
For you using the SP3 as a tablet may be a compromise based upon your use model; for me it isn't. For me using an iPad tablet is a LARGE compromise, and one which I simply don't want to put up with. For my use model there are plenty of tablets out there that will do more than any iPad ever made.
Point in all this is that our use factor, and what we happen to personally like or dislike, determines what is or is not a compromise for each of us. Yours just happens to be a different thing than mine.
Even our meanings when we use the word tablet, laptop etc. differ as well from person to person. To me the SP3, as I use it, is a tablet, laptop and desktop. In my office it sets in the dock with all the "desktop" stuff attached to it, and it is one fine desktop. When I leave with the type cover attached, it is one fine laptop - I use it in that configuration whether I'm at the kitchen counter or on the couch. But then, I also either fold the type cover back, or detach it, and it IS a tablet for me doing anything and everything a "tablet" can do (more than many "tablets" can do).
I don't mean this to be confrontational or argumentative, but I truly mean that my SP3 is a tablet, laptop and desktop for my use model. Can I find a tablet that's smaller and lighter? Sure (there are some out there that are larger and heavier too). Can I find a laptop that's heavier and bigger than my SP3 with type cover? Sure. Can I find a desktop that's bigger, heavier & uglier? Sure, no sweat.
Being a "tablet" isn't always about size or weight, or even whether it runs Windows, Android or iOS. It is about being a slate though...my SP3 can easily become a slate in 2 seconds. You want a smaller, lighter slate? Fine, there's plenty around, but just not suitable for my main use. Could I use an iPad and Android tablet and it would be a tablet? Yes.
OK, I've bored everyone around, including you, with my point(s). The takeaway is that these devices come in 3 primary forms, but each of us, based upon our use will prefer one at one time and probably another at a different time. I love the fact that mine literally fulfills all three uses - for me - but I fully recognize that different people will simply not like the same things I like or even need the same things I need.
