Bloomberg reports today that according to their sources, Microsoft’s newly announced would-be iPad-killer tablet, Surface, will launch with only a Wi-Fi short-range connection, and not any sort of cellular connection to mobile phone networks. As Bloomberg notes, this would mean that the Surface had already failed to compete with the iPad on at least one level, as the newest iPad went on sale with the fastest cellular connection possible, LTE, as standard, in the US at least, as well as the Wi-Fi only model. In some ways this move from Microsoft would be understandable, with Wi-Fi-only tablets having a bigger share of the market currently, and Bloomberg speculates that this could be a way of Microsoft keeping a lid on cost for the tablet, but Creative Strategies analyst Ben Bajarin told Bloomberg that having a Wi-Fi only tablet without the cellular connection could hamper its image as a device that can be used on-the-go. However, another analyst, Carolina Milanesi, from Gartner Inc, told Bloomberg that she did not see a Wi-Fi-only table as being a “limitation” for Microsoft, mainly because most customers choose to use their tablets at home or in the office, due to concerns about the high cost of data use.

Source: Microsoft

Do the ports available on the Surface allow any kind of 3G / 4G device to be plugged in? Or do what I do with my Wi-Fi-only iPad, and have a low cost Mi-Fi device for use when I'm not within Wi-Fi range.

I'll stay with this iPad

This is a an advance announcement regarding a Microsoft product. It will be a few months before any real information is known so please wait until then before asking. I would also recommend any one whom desires additional information to go to Microsoft web sites.

Originally Posted by Maura

Microsoft’s newly announced would-be iPad-killer tablet, Surface, will launch with only a Wi-Fi short-range connection, and not any sort of cellular connection to mobile phone networks.

I don't see a problem here. Just tether it to your cell phone, then you'd have a connection.