Five ways Microsoft's Surface is better than iPad: Gallery
Summary: This article spotlights features in both Surface models that are better, more innovative, and potentially more game changing than their counterparts on the iPad.
With all the discussion lately about Windows 8, Microsoft's relatively odd Surface products, and even the question of whether Apple has lost its mojo, I thought it might be instructive to look at things in a more positive light.
While I can't directly recommend the purchase of a Surface RT over an iPad or Chromebook, or a even Surface Pro over a similarly equipped ultrabook, there are some features in both Surface models that are better, more innovative, and potentially more game changing than on the iPad.
Way 1: Active tiles
Say what you will about the iPad's launcher interface, it's definitely long in the tooth. In fact, it's pretty much the same interface that Apple has been using for 20 years.
The nice thing about Microsoft's much-maligned Start screen is that the tiles dynamically update. That may be a pain for a desktop user, but on a tablet, it could be a big help.
On the one hand, it's almost impossible to tell which tile will launch YouTube, because the tile has a picture of whatever was recently watched or is currently being featured. But, on the other hand, dynamic tiles used in, say, a medical environment. could give professionals an at-a-glance view that the iPad launcher can't come close to duplicating.
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Talkback
Finally, still crap.
The surface is a very bad tablet (too heavy, to slow) but also a very weak PC.
Plus, all the features (and much more) pointed out in this article are solved by virtually any Android tablet as well (wich doesn't necessarily makes Android tablets superior to the ipad, though).
Bottom line: The ipad remains an excellent tablet, but Android can offer far more features.
Let's see what Sailfish and Ubuntu will eventually bring in to the race!
Office much in Android?
For 75% Yes
Matter of fact, David you should redo one for Android vs. Surface RT and Pro. I am finding that my normal MS work is gravitating more and more into my Android environment.
Short list
You have to own one to understand what the Surface is about. After that, the others are just plain tablets.
Ballmer
It's a tax. A Windows tax.
Microsoft CEO Ballmer has priced the Surface so that he can extract a PC-era price from the customer.
What a great idea. Pity it will fail.
Back in the PC era, these sort of plans would work. Now, in the Post PC era, people will just flock to Android instead. Look what's happened: Surface RT has already failed. Surface Pro (the "Pro" means it gets half the battery life) will go the same way, joining Windows Mobile, Windows Phone 7 Kin and Zune in the great Microsoft platform graveyard.
Erm...
monopoly
When they leverage their monopoly at every chance to crush competition and innovation. Were you asleep for the 5 years that MS would not upgrade IE6? That was 5 years without any innovation in web browsing technology during the peak of their browser monopoly. How can you trust a company with that kind of record?
They corner you into their walled garden, break the interoperability of their OS to eliminate your choice, and then they triple dip into your wallet. Every dollar you give them further empowers them to seal off the market from competition and innovation while they raise prices. Now MS wants to charge everyone monthly subscription fees just to use a computer.
This is what you are enabling by patronizing them.
The tech industry will only be healthy when there is balanced competition.
What are the alternatives?
...And you're already paying "monthly subscription fees", in case you didn't notice that either. Network access is free or do you pay $45/month to get a 5 Mb/s connection? And that's just the stuff that comes directly out of your pocket. Let's not get into the "free" services like email, antivirus (if you're using the free kind), and web search. We're all paying with those intangible costs like our freedom and privacy every time we log into a network.
If you don't like it, turn it off. Go home and turn on your Atari 2600. The games from back then are just as good today. Wanna play on Xbox? Prepare to pay recurring access fees.
If you want to actually do work, connect to other systems/servers, etc - then welcome to the new paradigm. Where you pay to play.
You're honestly griping like a spoiled child that just woke up a few minutes ago. Where have you been? This has been going on for more than a decade now....?!
Honestly, you're advocating for the nonsense idea that you pay once, then all the software will work with all the bug fixes and upgrades to infinity. How much do programmers cost again? O yeah, I guess a little more than zero, huh? How can a company make a living that way? Just ask those nice folks from Lotus and Wordperfect. What ever happened to them? O yeah... they forgot to charge people for their software, so they went out of business. Way to go there. Great pricing model.
Just look at Netscape and Real for crying out loud. More examples of companies that couldn't make money selling nothing. You want support? You want updates? You want bug fixes? Guess what, it's going to cost money.
Another thing - look at the truth for a second. Even when other companies are giving their crapware away for free, they still can't compete with MS in their office suites and programming environments. If that doesn't tell you something about the level of product support and feature set, then nothing will.
All the iPad sales in the world aren't going to equal MS office sales. Heck, Office 2000 probably outsold iPads by a factor of 10!? In the end, it's not about the hardware or the social status of the stuff you hold in your hand. It's about getting work done and sharing your work with others. You want to interact - pay up!! Or write your own code or use free junk instead. Good luck with that file compatibility thing, btw. Lotus 123 files, anyone?
Re: Office 2000 probably outsold iPads by a factor of 10
How many MS Office licenses were sold in the past three years?
As for file compatibility -- I do have plenty of business documents, written with previous versions of MS Office, that no current version of MS Office can open, ever!
Funny enough, OpenOffice opens these documents just fine.
Weird, isn't it? And OpenOffice is absolutely free to use for both personal and commercial purposes (licensed this way). Sun spent great amount of effort to ensure there is such software for everyone to use. So ... there is apparently some error in your money greedy model of software development.
ZDNet.com reports...
and...
Yeah you are right
Is that why its doing so well?
Really, it's not that this article is all that inaccurate. It's that what the author doesn't understand is that it *doesn't matter.* It never has.
That's funny...
wonder why ?
Yes
How is iPad a good tablet?
* Using Multiple Accounts.
* Real File Management
* Flash in browser. Say want you want to say about flash but it is still necessary in some websites
USB is really a big advantage especially when you have an Xbox controller. Let's face it playing games in touch can be tiring and difficult sometimes.
Surface does not compromise.
iPad is a good tablet because
The ONLY reason why one might tout less features
When that happens, what argument can you make to support your claim that less is more? Keep in mind that Android is still picking iOS's pocket because it can do more at a lesser cost.
That isn't the only reason one would tout new features