Microsoft Surface Tablet to Rival Apple iPad

The Microsoft Surface is the new kid on the block, with all the bells and whistles it can be a formidable contender to Apple iPad, Samsung Tabs and Google Nexus. It is evident that the Redmond IT Giant with its super user-friendly and fully functional tablets, is all set to destroy Apple’s and Google’s market share and rule the tablet market just like PC market.

Let’s have a closer look at the Surface – at a glance it looks more like an iPad with keyboard cover, but a glimpse inside would reveal it has PC like functionality. It’s has a svelte design and quite an attractive piece of gadget. With a dimension of 10.81 x 6.77 x 0.37 inches weighs just about 1.5 pounds. It has 8 hours of battery life with pen support. It is priced at $499 and with keyboard cover at $599. This puts the tablet right in the league of the iPad.

The Surface is powered by NVIDIA Tegra 3 T30 processor (Pro version – Intel Core i5 third-generation, “Ivy Bridge” with Intel HD graphics 4000) and sports Windows RT (a subset of Windows 8 family; Pro version – Windows 8 Pro, 64-bit), 2 GB (Pro version – 4 GB) of RAM, 10.6 inch ClearType display running at 1366 x 768 with 5 point multi-touch (Pro version – 1920 x 1080 with 10 point multi-touch), 32 GB or 64 GB of storage, has two front-and rear-facing 720p HD cameras, USB 2.0, microSDXC card slot, headset jack, HD video out port (proprietary), sensors, cover and comes bundled with Office RT

The key differentiating features between Surface and iPad are iPad’s seductive Retina Display (2048 x1536 with 264 pixels per inch) – a clear win for Apple, Windows RT 32 Bit (Pro – Windows 8 64 Bit) vs IOS 6.0 – Microsoft can be a tough contender in terms of functionality with familiar Windows Metro UI.

In spite of packing quite a punch, the Surface with Windows RT fails to deliver full tablet experience just like iPad, although the Pro version of Surface is a step closer but still not there yet.