Microsoft Explains Why to Buy Surface Instead of iPad
Now that both Microsoft and Apple have exposed their 10-inch cards, both are currently working their magic to earn your hard earned (or stolen/borrowed) cash. In today's corner we have Microsoft explaining why you, the dear valued consumer, should sink money into the Surface 2 or Surface Pro 2 instead of the iPad Air. This installment is written by Frank Shaw, Corporate Vice President of Communications at Microsoft.
"Surface and Surface 2 both include Office, the world's most popular, most powerful productivity software for free and are priced below both the iPad 2 and iPad Air respectively," he writes. "Making Apple's decision to build the price of their less popular and less powerful iWork into their tablets [is] not a very big (or very good) deal."
He points out that the new Surface tablets are a terrific blend of productivity and entertainment in one lightweight, affordable package. The team had this goal in mind after seeing too many people walking around with two devices: one for work and one for play. Surface, he claims, is a tablet built to offer great touch-based entertainment activities combined with a productivity powerhouse. Users essentially have one screen for writing reports and flinging birds.
"The good news is that Microsoft understands how people work better than anyone else on the planet. We created the personal computing revolution by giving people around the world a low-cost, powerful, easy-to-use device that helped them accomplish an unbelievable array of tasks. And together, Windows and Office ended up reaching every corner of the globe and powering every academic institution, industry and profession. Of course both Windows and Office are evolving all the time – to reflect the way people work today – more social, more mobile and connected through the cloud."
He goes on to poke fun at iWork, stating that it was originally priced like an afterthought before Apple announced the lower fees on Tuesday. "It's hardly that surprising or significant a move," he adds. "And it doesn't change the fact that it's much harder to get work done on a device that lacks precision input and a desktop for true side-by-side multitasking."
To read the full entertaining post, head here.
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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Shankovich Honestly, the only thing keeping me from getting it is games. I wouldn't mind playing some Sim City or something when taking a break from work/ school. Would it hurt to make one with an AMD APU? They do have tablet versions now.Reply -
jhansonxi False dichotomy. If only the world was so simple as to have only two vendors to choose from.Reply -
colson79 microsoft makes such a big deal about the surface having office but they put a ton of restrictions on it. I wanted to get a few surfaces for my business until I found out Microsoft doesn't allow the Office that comes on the surface to be used for business. At least Apples iWork doesn't have the restrictions.Reply -
morstern I would want one to be a mini computer away from home. Microsoft is my work environment, so the Surface would be nice.Reply
That said I find it more expensive. I want the bigger one with keyboard and that should be about 1100-1150. The office it includes (unless I have misread it) is 365 so you get to rent it at 100 dollars a year. If this thing were priced like the ARM one I'd by one even with the separate keyboard.
I just see a simple cheap laptop as a perfect fit for a mini computer away from home and at a price point far below what a surface costs. -
stevejnb The Surface 2 actually includes a non-subscription Office, so it has no further fee. The Skydrive, on the other hand, requires you to pay after the two years.Reply
That being said, $450 ain't cheap for a tablet in that range of hardware by anything but iPad standards. A lot of Android tablets cost less for an equivalent package. -
jimmysmitty Reply11799982 said:Honestly, the only thing keeping me from getting it is games. I wouldn't mind playing some Sim City or something when taking a break from work/ school. Would it hurt to make one with an AMD APU? They do have tablet versions now.
If they were smart and put in an i5 with a Iris Pro IGP, it would be fine.
And I don't know if AMDs APUs are powerful enough at that power point. -
bystander ReplyIf they were smart and put in an i5 with a Iris Pro IGP, it would be fine.
And I don't know if AMDs APUs are powerful enough at that power point.
Yah, Iris pro is quite impressive. It is almost as fast as a GTX 650m and faster than any of AMD APU's that I've seen compared.
Unfortunately, these would have to be put on the Surface Pro as they aren't ARM chips. -
stephenpate The above comment "microsoft makes such a big deal about the surface having office but they put a ton of restrictions on it." Either Frank Shaw is about to announce that people are going to get full versions of Office on the Surface 2 or he's lying. I checked with their media contacts, who were hired by Shaw's department, on Friday and they won't say which it is. They referred me to a year old post of gibber jabber about why a restricted home use of Office was important. Buyers of the Surface 2 will be in for a surprise if they read the fine print of Microsoft’s conditions on their license. Surface 2 owners can’t use Office for anything that makes money or even in a nonprofit unless they pay another $200 plus to Microsoft for a full license to Office.Reply
That little stroke of the MS Office pen takes away $220 from the price of a Surface 2 effectively killing the re-launch of last year’s least popular tablet. We are checking with people in power at Microsoft but no positive word yet. Stay tuned. http://njnnetwork.com/2013/10/surface-2-buyers-in-for-an-ugly-surprise/
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greghome If I wanted Productivity, I would have gotten an actual notebook, instead of a Tablet hybridReply