Surface RT vs. iPad: a Comparison 357
First time accepted submitter thetechblock writes "On Tuesday, with the release of pricing and pre-orders for the new Surface RT tablets, Twitter exploded with comparisons to the iPad. So, I decided to put together a little comparison chart to contrast two equivalent models." The comparison is interesting, but note the source; you can discount the conclusions of writer Jeff Blankenburg by as much as you want for his role as "developer evangelist" for Microsoft.
Yawn (Score:5, Insightful)
Wake me up when there is a review by someone that isn't on either Apple or Redmond's payroll. This was nothing more than an advertisement.
No keyboard with the Surface? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Yawn (Score:1, Insightful)
Joke article (Score:5, Insightful)
That 'article' is a joke - of course Surface comes out on top - when 'reviewed' by the guy who wrote the book on Windows Phone 8.
It's also funny - I recall the exact same argument over quantity vs. quality of applications back in the 80's when Apple were the underdog. Seems like MS can't change their habit of... recycling other peoples' ideas.
I also especially like the sign-off... "It’s time for all of you, my faithful readers, to tell me why I’m wrong"... well, we might if there was ANY option to comment on the page.
So, why are Slashdot running this Surface ad under the guise of an article?
Re:Yawn (Score:5, Insightful)
Am I missing something, or did he not even have the unit to review?
Re:Yawn (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Trash (Score:5, Insightful)
I actual bothered to click the link to the article, and all I see is a comparison of the cost of a few accessories and apps? Where's the comparison of the technical specs? How is this garbage even worth posting?
Tech specs seem less relevant when comparing high-end tablets from different manufacturers running completely different operating systems - I'd rather see end-user impressions.
Does the higher resolution of the iPad make any difference in real-life use? Is the larger screen of the MS tablet better or worse than the slightly smaller iPad screen with higher dpi? How fast is the device? Can it run multiple applications and switch smoothly among them? Can I play a video in the corner of the screen while I'm browsing the web? Does it load webpages quickly? How easy is it to use the UI?
Those are the questions I'd like to see answered, if I really want to know what CPU the tablet is running, I can look that up, but knowing the processor and RAM specs tells me nothing about usability.
Re:Yawn (Score:5, Insightful)
This was once pretty standard fare for pro-Microsoft journalists. I remember a year before Windows 95 came out that one of the Microsoft-friendly magazines published an article on Chicago extolling its virtues, with pictures showing how great it was, but with a tiny caption indicating that it was an artist's rendering. The whole article, and several like it had but one purpose, and that was dissuade people from moving to alternatives (mainly OS/2, which supported Win16 apps by this point) while Microsoft fought like hell to make a Win32 OS actually work.
It's almost the exact opposite approach to Apple, which uses its veils of secrecy, with the odd fringe lifted ever so slightly, or the odd device "accidentally" left at a bar, to build up anticipation.
Which one is better, we'll see. But it's pretty clear now that Microsoft's competitor right now isn't going to be the iPad, it's going to be the iPad Mini. Which device do you suppose will have long lines waiting to grab said device on release?
Is this Microsoft's attack on the App Store? (Score:3, Insightful)
Is this Microsoft's attack on the App Store?
"When I hear about 600,000 apps, I’m just in awe. As I’ve said many times before, however, I don’t think it’s the right number for comparison. Nobody is using more than a couple dozen applications on their device."
Even If I don't count the many games and educational apps my kid use I still see many more than a couple dozen apps that I used in the last week on my ipad.
Also I don't think hooking a mouse to a tablet is a great feature for surface. It just shows me Microsoft doesn't know how people use tablets. Perhaps they should goto a coffee shop and look at all the people using there competitors tablets. the keyboard can make sense if you type large emails or even do word processing, but I would guess most don't use physical keyboards enough to need to purchase one.
Re:Yawn (Score:5, Insightful)
At least the magazines had the excuse of being written a month before they actually got delivered... this guy is running a frigging blog and his "comparison" involves reading down spec sheets and accessory lists. And he dismisses "almost no apps" and "no accessories" and "inferior screen" as not really being that important. And then the really strange part is his assumption that people will use this for Office apps? Is that what people are doing with tablets?
I've never understood the appeal of the tablets, so I don't really feel like I have a device to "root" for. My wife wanted a Kindle Fire HD, so we got one. I played with it for a few hours and she turned it on once, I think. I asked her why she made me get it and she said "to play videos for the kids in the car". Alrighty, then - glad she didn't ask for an iPad...
MS still hasn't answered the main question (Score:5, Insightful)
Why would I want to buy a Windows tablet?
That's it. If they can come up with a good answer for that, they'll be able to sell them. Thus far, they haven't been able to. "Windows" itself is a negative brand name that carries a ton of baggage from crapware infested poor quality OEM PCs, and not something that makes people feel good about buying. The market tolerates Windows because it doesn't have a choice, it doesn't love Windows.
Only problem is that in the tablet space, the market *does* have a choice. There's a clear leader, and it's not Windows. Why would I want Windows instead of the market leader? A lower resolution screen and Office are not exactly compelling selling features for home users.
Re:Yawn (Score:5, Insightful)
So you're saying, try reading an incredibly biased website? At least slashdot is neutral and the issue is trolls, neowin is explicitly pro microsoft.
Re:Yawn (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm sorry did you say neutral? Even if Microsoft discovered the cure for cancer and released it for free, /. would still find a way to put an evil spin on it.
Re:Yawn (Score:5, Insightful)
Mistake #1: He compares it to 32 GB iPad, yet fails to mention that Windows and Office alone eat up about 12GB. So in reality, Surface is 20 GB [reddit.com] and not 32.
Obvious shill is obvious.
The 20 gb size is for windows 8 pro for intel, there are no numbers yet on how bit the windows RT OS is yet.
Re:It's got Office and that's good enough for some (Score:4, Insightful)
Just wait until you try to open an Office document that uses a font outside the small subset of fonts included with the Surface. Hell, just opening a PPT on any laptop other than the one it was created on often requires last minute editing to get everything on the screen.
Re:Yawn (Score:5, Insightful)
If you require an external HD then you are using your tablet wrong regardless of the make or model. Get yourself a laptop and save yourself some grief. As for the HID stuff, most tablets have bluetooth and you don't have to fight the cables when trying to prop up your tablet in the field.
Re:Yawn (Score:5, Insightful)
And nobody wants to have to add and remove cards all the time...
Absolutely. I would much rather to delete my music and movies, or uninstall apps so that I can free up space for something new. Inserting a microSD card is just so inconvenient.
Two equivalent models (Score:5, Insightful)
How about this for two equivalent models:
iPad 32GB with 2560x1536 pixels : $599
4xMicrosoft Surface 32GB tablets to yield a combined >2560x1536 pixel count : $1996
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iPad looks like a much better deal to me.
Or, how about we just compare them the way a consumer will:
cheapest iPad: $499
cheapest Microsoft Surface: $499
"The iPad has a nicer screen but the Surface comes with more storage (32GB vs. 16GB). The iPad probably works better and has more apps--decision, iPad."
Re:Multiuser... (Score:4, Insightful)
I wish the iPad had multiple users. I also wish that my iPhone had work and home profiles. This is one area where Microsoft has gotten it right--and if you don't need or want multiple users, then you don't need to use it.
Re:Yawn (Score:5, Insightful)
When I'm stationed in the hotel, I can connect the Surface to the hotel TV and a keyboard+mouse and I have a full office suite right there.
While that idea does scream "Neato!" in my head, when I think about it a little longer, it is absurd. By the time you carry around keyboard, connectors, and Surface - wouldn't you be better off with a small laptop? And then you wouldn't need to stress over whether or not you can actually jack in to the hotel TV or whether it will be in a convenient spot. Something like a Macbook Air (2.4lbs) or 3lb Ultrabook is a bit larger than a tablet, but not significantly larger than tablet+keyboard+cover+connection cables and adapters, and a lot less unwieldy.