Microsoft's Surface Book arrives in the UK - yours for just £1,300

With change. Or why not treat yourself to the top-of-the-range model, yours for a modest £2,249?

The latest version of Microsoft's popular Surface laptop/tablet, the Surface Book, is now available in the UK - for anyone with a grand or more to spend on a new toy.

The device has become available this week to pick up from the company's online store, with prices starting at £1,299. Microsoft is pitching the device against the MacBook Pro and the Chromebook Pixel.

The £1,299 basic model comes with just 128GB of storage, 8GB of RAM and is powered by an Intel Core i5 microprocessor.

However, prices climb to £2,249 for the model with a respectable 512GB of storage, 16GB of RAM and Intel's top-end Core i7 processor. Most potential buyers are unlikely to be too miffed at finding that this most expensive model is showing as unavailable at present.

The Microsoft Surface Book can also be picked up from big retailers, including Currys/PC World, John Lewis, Selfridges, Harrods, Amazon and Very.co.uk.

The Surface Book was announced in October and is Microsoft's first own-brand laptop. Apple CEO Tim Cook isn't a fan, but Microsoft claimed that the device "redefines" what should be expected of a laptop with a 13.5in 3,000x2,000 screen, included Surface Pen and quirky Lenovo Yoga-style hinge.

It's also the "most powerful" laptop yet, according to Microsoft. The Surface Book has a second Nvidia GeForce GPU in the keyboard component, which the firm claimed makes it ideal for photo and video editing or for engineers and architects rendering 3D models and schematics. This keyboard is removable, and the tablet component switches to the integrated GPU when the screen is detached.

Not one to be modest, Microsoft also said that the laptop's Intel chip makes the device 50 per cent faster than the MacBook Air and better performing in terms of battery life.

The Surface Book comes with a premium MacBook-style metal design and glass trackpad, and features Windows 10 Pro, 8MP and 5MP cameras, a full-sized SD card reader, a mini DisplayPort and up to 1TB of flash storage.