[Microsoft Surface] SixSixSevenSeven:
Well. For full windows 8 you have alot more choice than the RT devices but the big question becomes: atom or core i[x] series?

You have a huge choice for both and both processors are x86 CPU's running the full windows 8 not windows RT. General trend seems to be that the intel atom devices come with windows 8, i5 devices come with windows 8 pro although that is not always the case and there is no technical reason that you cant upgrade from windows 8 to windows 8 pro which you can do easily enough (it just isn't free to upgrade like that).

Making the decision between atom and i5 (or i3 and i7 but they are less common) is probably the first step.

The core i5 devices have performance not lagging too far behind that of a regular laptop. 1.7ghz dual core is most common however 1ghz on an i5 is not equal to 1ghz on an intel atom, at the same clock speed the i5 completes many more instructions than the atom (varying reports on whether its 2x, or 10x or what but it is a significant difference). Photoshop, programming and some light gaming are all possible (low settings will still be required usually, these are still not powerful devices, people after powerful devices should get a high end laptop or a desktop). Windows 8 is fast and responsive on them, you have the power to do a fair amount on these machines. These also seem to be the only devices with USB3 if you need that. There are 3 massive drawbacks though.

Firstly, that i5 combined with the tiny batteries you can fit in a tablet result in a short life. 5 hours on 1 charge is doable but much more and you really are pushing it.

Secondly, i5's get very warm. Unlike the ARM and atom processors they need proper cooling, this is supplied in the form of fans so if your used to the fans on your laptop then thats fine but if your upgrading from a tablet, well it might get a bit odd having fan noise (although most models are pretty quiet as air cooled systems go).

Thirdly, cost. Atom chips are cheap, ARM chips are cheap. i5's are not. Pushes the cost of the tablet up massively.

The atom devices are not even nearly as powerful as the core i5 devices. Netbooks all used to run intel atom chips usually and although this generation is significantly faster than the chips in old netbooks they are still not powerful. Windows 8 metro apps are all fine on the atom and of course x86 software can still run but gaming performance is non existent and things like photoshop might be limited to smaller images and you still might have to wait for a few things here and there.

On the upside the battery life is much closer to that of an ARM device. The asus vivotab hits 9 hours supposedly.

They are passively cooled, ie no fans.

They cost about the same as RT devices usually too.

So far I've only seen 1.2 or 2 MP front cameras and about 5 to 8 rear. Most of the tablets I have seen have both front and rear for both the i5 and atom.

I am yet to find a tablet that does not have USB functionality. Its just a case of how that is presented. The asus vivotab smart has a microUSB on the tablet and needs an adaptor to full size USB (USB OTG adaptor) for instance. The samsung smart PC has a full size USB port above the screen. Think I saw one tablet where USB is only present on the keyboard dock but I cant recall the model. Only the i5 systems have USB3, the atoms have USB2.

Keyboards are achieved through various methods. A few companies have adopted the method pioneered in the asus transformer android tablets (asus vivotab tf810c, samsung smart PC pro). There are 1 or 2 which are more similar to the surface where the keyboard cannot support the tablet upright and the tablet needs some form of prop (asus vivotab smart). There are even some which have no keyboard option at all beyond USB or bluetooth (dell latitude 10).

My personal favourite is the asus vivotab tf810c. It is an 11" unit with a wacom active digitiser stylus and a proper laptop style keyboard dock which has 2 USB ports. 2MP front camera, 8MP rear. Sadly the tablet itself does not have a USB port but there is an included dongle which goes in the docking port to add a single USB port, annoyingly that means it goes into the bottom edge but I guess if you flip the tablet upside down then windows rotates anyway, just the ASUS logo will be upside down and the windows button in the wrong place. It is also only an intel atom processor but for my needs that is more than enough.

I dont think anyone can choose a tablet for anyone else right now. The different keyboard docking methods alter the ergonomics of the device a fair bit and might be a make or break for some people (including myself)