Windows 8 slate or iPad

Moderated by Lawrence Dignan | March 12, 2012 -- 07:00 GMT (00:00 PDT)

Summary: Which is the better tablet for the enterprise?

Matthew Miller

Matthew Miller

Windows 8 slate

or

iPad

Josh Gingold

Josh Gingold

Best Argument: Windows 8 slate

Closing Statements

No compromises with Windows 8

Matthew Miller

Matthew Miller: Microsoft was a pioneer in the tablet space several years ago with the UMPC and then Tablet PC lines, but these never seemed to appeal to the full enterprise or consumer market. People are excited about Windows 8 in a tablet form factor, primarily for the potential to have a portable computer with no compromises in applications. After testing out the Consumer Preview on a Samsung Slate I can see why there is excitement, but also see areas where Microsoft has to improve Windows 8 before release to the market.
 
As Apple has shown, there is more to making a successful tablet product than just having bigger buttons and fewer menus. Microsoft needs to make sure the entire experience is consistent, fluid, stable, and easy. Consumers don't often get frustrated with an iPad and Microsoft needs to make the Windows 8 tablet experience just as easy, while also providing differentiation with application support.
 
Apple redefined the tablet market with the iPad and I use mine every day, including while on business trips. While you can use it for basic work tasks such as email, word processing, spreadsheets, and web browsing, there are still many limitations that hold it back from full enterprise adoption. Apple and 3rd party developers are making serious efforts to address those limitations and with BYOD more and more consumers are going to bring their iPad to work whether or not the IT department acknowledges it.

 

No more status quo

Josh Gingold

Josh Gingold: It strikes me as unusual that we should even be having this debate since the Windows 8 slate isn't yet on the market for which iPad’s share is already greater than 50%.  Nevertheless, this is the mobile showdown that so many (including me) have been waiting for.  And although it feels like much more of the same old argument over which is better, Apple or Microsoft, this may be different because so many PC fans are hopeful that the Windows 8 slate may actually have a fighting chance against the iPad juggernaut.

Unfortunately, many IT professionals still maintain an extreme aversion for anything made by Apple, which may be limiting their ability to see past the traditional Windows platform in which they have so much time and energy invested.  The work place is changing and most business users don’t really care what IT wants.  They want whatever technology they use in their business lives to be the same as what they use in their personal lives.  Those types of devices are not replacing PCs but rather extending them through a more versatile form factor.

Interestingly, much of the same criticisms that were first leveled against the iPhone are now translating over to the iPad.  But, of course, none of the criticism is actually justified.  The iPad has already proven that it can and will be used for business, even if their IT departments don't always like it, and every user I talk to says they’re happy with it.  Perhaps more importantly, Apple has planted yet another flag in the enterprise market.  Like it or not, it might be time to brush up on Apple products.

 

Windows 8 best bet for business

Lawrence Dignan

Congratulations to both Matt and Josh for offering such well-reasoned *and* reasonable arguments, with no mud slung. My take: Although platform choice, in the increasingly BYOD-driven enterprise, will continue to be influenced  by users' personal preferences, I have to agree with the majority vote and give this one to Mr. Miller: Windows 8, with the rights apps, looks to be the best tablet for most business environments.

Talkback

338 comments
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  • I own both

    I own both an iPad2 and a Samsung Series7 Slate (Core i5, 4GB RAM, 64GB SSD, BT + WiFi + CellularData).

    The iPad is a nice device for casual usage. It has lots of games, a pretty decent browser, it's light and lasts forever on a single charge.

    But it's missing all the other stuff I do with my primary computing experience.

    My Slate on the other hand is essentially a laptop without a keyboard. It too has a very nice touch-friendly user experience, especially since the Win8 Consumer Preview started delivering useful apps like email, etc.). But this device also runs everything else I depend upon for my work & play. It runs full-blown Office, Visual Studio & all my dev tools, synchronizes all my notes and docs with the cloud, etc. And this is just the first step down Microsoft's bold new path of a completely redesigned user experience for the future. It'll be fascinating to see how app vendors and developers re-imagine their app experiences as Metro-style apps in the coming months and years. In the meantime, all my current apps run just as they do today.

    With my iPad, I still need a laptop to run corporate & LOB apps, run many of the tools I depend upon for my livelihood, etc.

    My slate basically allows me to replace my laptop! I now have one device upon which I can do pretty much everything.
    bitcrazed
    Reply Vote I'm for Windows 8 slate

    • Ipad has nice games

      But your slate will have better... As it can run anything windows 7 can as its an intel processor (i am aware you know this, just pointing it out)

      So people who say well Apple has 500,000 apps in its eco-system, his tablet will have ermmmm how many 10's of millions?
      danjames2012
      Reply 1 Vote I'm for Windows 8 slate

      • 10s of millions?

        Will he be able to load those 10s of millions of apps on his slate? Doesn't sound practical, how much time would it take to try out 10s of millions of apps? Could you post a list of the 10s of millions of apps for us?
        john_gillespie@...
        Reply Vote I'm for iPad

      • Ipad has nice games

        Exactly, you don't see MS launching commercials about how the PC has over 10 Million apps because they don't have to! It surprises me how foolish consumers can be. Most Apps for iPad replace common tools that you already have access to. Their just wrappers to hide the complicated pieces that most consumers don't understand. I've been waiting for Windows 8 ever since the iPad launched because I know I can trust MS to make a solid OS that's compatible with my current tools and full versions of the products I know and love.
        Rob.sharp
        Reply 1 Vote I'm for Windows 8 slate

      • Microsoft doesn't think so

        According to Microsoft, Windows 8 on ARM will not run ANY existing Windows applications. If your slate is on Intel architecture you may be able to run some (but far from most) Windows applications, but could you actually use them? Desktop applications are designed for high resolution pointing device such as mouse and keyboard, not touch.
        danbi
        Reply Vote I'm for iPad

      • They don't of course

        Rob.sharp@

        You don't see Microsoft advertising the number of apps they have for Windows 8, because as of today, they don't have any. Windows 8 is not yet shipping.

        When it does ship, we can count beans.
        danbi
        Reply Vote I'm for iPad

      • apps for windows 8

        MS has said many times "If it can run on windows 7, it will run on windows 8 using the intel chipset". Period.! all of them! if there's 10 million, then it will run 10 million.
        shazen
        Reply 1 Vote I'm for Windows 8 slate

      • haha

        @john_gillespie

        You want me to post every single app ever released for.....

        Windows XP
        Windows Vista
        Windows 7

        I don't think i have enough time in my life to find them all..
        However while i see you are from Ipad. How about you go research how many of them 500,000 apps are soundboards, or fart buttons.
        danjames2012
        Reply Vote I'm for Windows 8 slate

      • load 500,000 apps on your ipad.

        tell me, how do i do that?
        other *
        Reply Vote I'm for Windows 8 slate

      • Legacy lost

        Sorry but zero legacy application will run on a W8 slate. Microsoft said so. Also, those '10???s of millions' will look pretty bad in Metro.
        dheady@...
        Reply 1 Vote I'm for iPad
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