The Microsoft Surface and Apple iPad 3 Head to Head

I was in a recent discussion about the Microsoft Surface and how it will be received by the consumer market. Obviously there are a lot of emotional reactions. Everyone is speculating about the price points, comparing features, and wondering if average consumers will even care. I would argue that there is a technical aspect to this that does make sense to discuss and debate … after all, you can compare screen resolutions or count apps in the app store … but then there is a purely marketing aspect that overrides any technical considerations. No, it doesn’t mean the specs don’t matter, but it does mean that you can have poor specs and great marketing and still succeed, and the best specs in the world won’t fix a poor marketing campaign.

All of the discussion and speculation got me wondering, how does this offering compare to the iPad? I can’t offer an objective opinion because I’m not an iPad user. I have a Samsung Series 7 slate that I purchased to write my book, and have been using Windows 8 on it since the Developer Preview. I love it. It does exactly what I want. When I am heads down writing prose or code, I’m on my dual screen monitors with a big external keyboard. When I’m casually browsing emails, participating in social networks, editing or commenting on manuscripts or watching videos, I’ve got my slate in hand. The battery lasts a long time (I enjoy watching movies any time I’m flying from Atlanta to Seattle, and always have plenty of battery left over) and the experience is just nice.

That, however, doesn’t mean it is not lacking or inferior. Of course this is a full version of Windows 8 on a Pentium chip that requires a fan to cool it so it is a lot thicker than an iPad. I have friends with iPads who love it. It’s thin. It’s easy to carry around. It is fast, snappy, and does the trick … so from that perspective, it’s tough for me to say one really “wins” over the other. The people used to the iPad, love it, the ones used to the Windows 8 slate, love it. Having said that, I was a former iPhone user and switched to Windows Phone 7 and had no desire to go back (no, didn’t receive anything from Microsoft for that statement, either, I truly had the choice and ended up turning it over to my daughter because I loved the Windows Phone so much).

OK, enough about speculation, let’s see what we can be objective about. Here’s a technical comparison that I believe accurately reflects the two models. Disclaimer: this is what I’ve gathered to the best of my ability by examining the data available online. I do not warrant the accuracy here and I welcome all feedback and updates. The specs here do not represent any official statement or correspondence from either Microsoft nor Apple. Here’s what I came up with:

Again, I welcome any corrections or updates if I’m off. Let’s take a look line by line:

Storage

This one was interesting to me. The entry level model for Surface actually has twice the storage of it’s counterpart, and other models are on par with the price.

Display and Cameras

Clearly the iPad3 wins in this category. With a super high resolution display it blows the Surface out of the water, and has a higher resolution front camera to boot. I would have to really hold two of these devices side by side to determine how much of a difference that makes – the video really doesn’t concern me, I am perfectly fine with 720p, but the display is

something that can make a major difference if you are staring at the tablet all day long.

Weight and Thickness

These appear to be so close that you can’t really declare a winner. Right on par in both aspects.

CPU and RAM

Unless my information is off, it looks like all price points of the Surface are double RAM of the iPad3 (2 GB vs. 1 GB). The CPU is a quad core NVidia T30 that clocks up to 1.5 GHz compared to a dual-core A5x that clocks up to 1.0 GHz but I wouldn’t read that as a win for one over the other – regardless of cores or clock (which changes, by the way, to preserve battery) we’d have to see head-to-head bench marks to determine if the CPUs are really being utilized in a way that makes one truly faster than the other.

Battery

These are all based on claims and not actual data, so it’s tough to say the 2 hour difference is significant. Microsoft may be conservative or they may be off – you’d have to set up an experiment with comparable streaming video, browsing, or other “high cost” activities on both devices to truly compare. It looks like on paper the batteries should be comparable.

Peripheral Support

To me the Surface wins hands-down here. If you don’t care, it’s a moot point, but I like my USB drives and other peripherals and the fact that the Surface has a USB 2.0 port I can plug them right into.

Sensors

The systems appear to have a similar array of sensors. I’m not sure whether or not the iPad3 has a magnetometer and whether we should care. Anyone?

Microsoft Office

This is to me hands-down the most important comparison. This is not based on my personal bias, but practical experience. My Samsung slate is often mistaken for an iPad on planes just because it’s a tablet and Apple has certainly marketed their product well enough to make it seem that all tablets are iPads. What gets interesting, however, is when I’m editing PowerPoint presentations, book manuscripts in Word, or catching up on Outlook emails on my device. That’s when people lean over and go, “Oh, wow, how did you get Office on there?” When I explain it’s the Windows version on a Windows machine, I consistently get “oohs” and “ahhhs.” Of course, I have mixed feelings about this one. WindowsRT will be limited to Windows Store apps, which include Office, so that’s good … but the next thing I typically say, which is “Yeah, I can run ALL of my Windows 7 software on this” simply won’t hold true for Surface until the Pro version comes out later next year.

First Windows 8 ad:

First Surface ad:

So what’s the bottom line?

I think this appears to be a very innovative product that I’m excited to try out. I just may get one for my wife or daughter and see how they enjoy it and whether or not they feel limited by the available apps. Whether we decide it’s awesome and far better than the iPad3 doesn’t really matter, however. Sure, it makes a difference, but what will determine overall success is how well Microsoft markets the product … and that’s still up in the air, although the hype is now beginning for both Windows 8 and Surface.

What do you think about the recent announcements? What are your thoughts on features, specifications, and price points? How about all of the other manufacturers releasing their line of Windows 8 products … is any particular model standing out as a clear leader in innovation, design, and, yes, I’ll say it, ability to kick iPad’s ass?

Comment below.

(c) 2011-2012 Jeremy Likness.