(Photo: Huffington Post)

The deposed queen of daytime is, apparently, still issuing annual proclamations of her favorite things--even without a studio full of suburban moms moved to speak in tongues after receiving the good word.

Microsoft better hope Oprah's imprimatur is still enough to move items off the shelf because Ms. Winfrey has declared the Surface tablet to be one of her favorite things in 2012. "Feels like a Mercedes-Benz to me, people!" she crows. 

According to the rest of Oprah's list, that puts Surface-lovers in the Venn diagram between People Who Want to Chill Their Wine Like a Snow Fairy and People Who Think Dogs Can Read Architectural Digest. Practicality is not big with these folks.

Gizmodo's Sam Biddle and his fetching cardigan recently appeared on Bloomberg TV declaring Surface "kind of heartbreaking," for its watered-down operating system. But Ms. Winfrey seems fine with tablet alternatives that won't actually replace your laptop.

"The full-size keyboard built right into the cover makes work easy, the very smart kickstand makes watching a movie or Skyping a friend a delight, the less than a pound-and-a-half weight makes a great alternative to a laptop, and the many other features make it fun for work and play. Now, that's a wowser!"—Oprah

It might come as a wowser to Oprah fans like luvtread that the keyboard, which is integral to using the device, is actually sold separately for $120. Wait, is that what makes it Benz-y?

(h/t @lindseyweber)