The Surface is Microsoft’s answer to the iPhone. Its gloriously detailed colour display, intuitive touch-sensitive controls and clever applications had me gasping when I tried one of the first commercial units here in Seattle. The only problem is that instead of being a pocket-sized handset, the Surface is about as large and heavy as a coffee table. To be fair, though, it actually is a coffee table.

Forget miniaturisation, forget portability - Microsoft has reinvented the home computer as a piece of “smart furniture”. This 2ft-high techno table has no keyboard or mouse, just a 30in touch-sensitive display that can be controlled by prods and pokes.

Underneath the acrylic top lurks a Windows Vista PC in a powder-coated steel cage, using wi-fi to access the web. Built-in speakers and a subwoofer add an audiophile sheen to music and video.

Unfortunately, you won’t find the Surface in Ikea: it’s currently priced at around $15,000 (£8,400). I tried it in the Seattle Sheraton, where three units run a virtual concierge service recommending shops, restaurants and sights, complete with phone numbers and directions on a pin-sharp digital map. With the flick of a finger, you can switch to a satellite-image view, spin Microsoft’s Virtual Earth globe and explore cities around the world - the ultimate digital “staycation” for financially bruised Yanks.

Something tells me that Seattle would love the Surface whatever the exchange rate. A computerised coffee table is the ideal product for this tech-savvy, caffeine-mad city, and the tough Surface is fully cappuccino-proof. Microsoft is promising an affordable consumer version in three years, pitching it as a family-friendly device ideal for managing digital photos, videos and music.

But three years is a long time in technology, especially when Apple already offers most of the Surface’s features and ease of use in a relatively affordable mobile phone. Controlling computers through gestures alone may well be the future, but Microsoft’s marvel looks like it’s surfacing a touch too late.

Explore Personal Tech

• InGear