"There are rough edges to the Surface," wrote of the Wall Street Journal. "The biggest is a paucity of apps for the new touch interface."

"The Windows Store inventory is alarmingly short of high-profile apps," chimed in of PCWorld, which like Computerworld is owned by IDG.

Moorhead said the reviews were a "fair assessment" of the situation, but added, "They're only a snapshot in time. We all know that Microsoft will improve [the app inventory]."

Because the Windows Store, like rivals from Apple and Google, is a moving target, Moorhead and Miller both warned that their current appraisal was only that.

"Microsoft placed a wager, built a device, built an operating system (or three), and asked developers to take a chance on them," Miller said. "It seems to be starting -- but time will tell how much of a virtuous cycle between developers and consumers gets started in the Windows Store."