Compare-Microsoft-Surface-and-Apple-IPad

Still ogling at the slate like object your colleague just sneaked out of his case wallet and hoping he surfaces it again so that you can have a better view. Dreaming all night for your next “tablet” and flipping over every possible Internet resource to get a suitable answer that doesn’t only bring smile on your face but also your pocket. Well, here is some news that you can use!!

Microsoft is back in the tablet rally once again. On June, 18th the company raised the curtain from Surface and Microsoft says it’s a result of imagination for re-imagining the tablet. By Surfacing “Surface” Microsoft has gone head –on with its arch rivals, the Apple IPad. This Clash of Titans was much anticipated and the entire technocrats’ world has their eyes set on It.

So lets do a head to head comparison of the two and learn about some of the salient features of both the slate miracles world has named “Tablets”. It will be really interesting to see how this Windows baby takes on the Game Changer Apple IPad.

For Beginners, both Surface and IPad are fairly large machines however the Surface is just inches ahead of the IPad. The Surface is a 10.6 inches with full HD support (as per Microsoft Press release) whereas the IPad’s screen size is 9.7 inches (resolution 2048X1536 pixels). That win for Surface doesn’t sustain when it comes to weighing the machines. Both the Surface models weigh more than the IPad. The RT version weighs 1.49 lbs. while its sibling weighs 1.99 lbs. whereas, the IPad a mere 1.44 lbs. is featherweight in this aspect.

Coming to more in depth analysis and tech facts here is a comparison that shows how the new Microsoft Surface stands up against the iPad 3.

Hardware

The Microsoft Surface boldly features “VapoMg”, the molded magnesium casing that shelters Surface’s components. What is really unique and sets it apart from the iPad is the magnetic strip to attach really handy accessories such as the “Touch Cover” and “Type Cover” . It’s strongly believed that this will be an added perk for the business users who would want the flexibility of touch and type rather than just “tap to type” as is presently available in an iPad. Touch cover and Type Cover will be offered by Microsoft at no extra price (as per Microsoft press release).Both,when filed up act as protective covers that gets attached to the Surface via the magnetic strip.

When flipped they act as keyboards. Smart!!Isn’t it? The touch cover is enabled with a touch sensitive keyboard and is about 3 mm whereas the Type cover is slightly fatter with a tactile keyboard. What is interesting to note here is the Surface is an exclusive “In House” Microsoft product packed with full featured soft wares as well as the hardware which is manufactured solely by Microsoft. This basically means that at this moment Microsoft is not just a competitor to Apple but also a rival to longtime Personal Computer manufacturing partners as Hewlett -Packard, Dell and Acer. The world is quite eagerly waiting for the pricing of the Surface after covering the production and manufacturing costs. This will be also determining where the product stands in the market.

Software

Microsoft has done a phenomenal job by integrating the Office suite i.e. Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, with the Surface. Possibly the most basic and frequently used application on earth will be available as a bundle software along with the Surface at no extra cost. Whereas the Apple supplement for Office suite, iWork is not available as part of the application bundle offered by Apple with an iPad, the user needs to purchase a copy from the apps store.

The Final Verdict

It’s really a stiff task to comment which one is best among both of these slate wonders. As the Apple iPad has been entertaining the world for more than two years now and has literally taken the world by a storm. It’s by far the largest selling tablet among all of its competitors. With introduction of the Surface Microsoft is trying to create an “ecosystem” around Windows 8 and at the same time challenging the iPad with a wealth of diverse and unique features under its belt.

Microsoft is definitely aware that today iPad is the most popular device because of the plethora of apps embedded and available for it. By numbers it is close to 225,000! So Microsoft needs to find out avenues to develop apps for this new platform with the help of third party developers.

At the same time unlike most other tablets in the market, Surface will be able to run almost any program that the users run on their home or office computers, thus it will be likely more attractive to business users of-course along with the home users.

To conclude, it’s still too early to judge which of the two is better. But if you want to taste a different flavor then Surface might just be the answer!