Everyone loves the iPad. It’s clear in the coffee shops of
central London through to the trains and planes of the developed world beyond –
the slab of screen has become another Apple banker.
It’s also clear from the scramble of manufacturers aping the
house that Jobs built that the market is becoming a battleground – and Microsoft
have brought out the big guns.
The company’s new Surface tablet is a bit of a misnomer,
mind. Sure, it’s got a 10.6in 10.6" 1366×768 touch screen, Wi-fi, up to 128GB of storage
and runs apps – but it’s not really a tablet at all.
At least, not the higher-end version. The top Surface tab,
we’re promised, will run anything
Windows 8 PCs can handle.
While the Intel Atom processor hiding behind the screen is hardly going to be busting out max-settings Crysis on the bus, it’s
essentially a notebook PC, able to run Firefox, Windows Media Player, Office,
Steam – anything a leisure laptop needs, basically. And it comes with a case
which doubles as a detachable fold-out keyboard/stand and mouse-thing.
It even comes complete with USB 3.0 ports and an SD card
slot. This alone makes it so much more versatile than an iPad. Want to look at
your snaps on the shiny screen? Pop your camera’s SD card in. Want to watch
some films? Plug in your external hard drive. Want to swap a few songs over on
your iPod without bothering to start your big PC? You get the drift. Frankly, I
applaud Microsoft for including these vital ports which Apple seems to detest.
Personally, it’s exactly the sort of thing I’ve been waiting
for. I love the idea of the iPad and have come close to buying before. But I
just couldn’t see how much I’d really use it when I already have a laptop for
the above tasks and a large-screen smartphone on the go.
But the Surface truly promises to combine the best of both
without making huge sacrifices like the iPad.
I can genuinely see myself taking the Surface out and about, but also word
processing, file management, film-watching and web surfing at home. It’s
ingenious.
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| Surface can connect to an iPad or other devices via USB. |
There is always a downside, though. For one thing, the
resolution, while decent, is no retina display. Side-by-side with an iPad 3,
Surface – like everything – loses out.
Similarly, there are many who simply don’t want Windows on their device – people who like the simplicity
and dependability of the Apple OS and iTunes, rather than updating drivers, fiddling
with files and doing virus scans. I can see their point.
Price will be key, too. Price it too low, and other
manufacturers will feel Microsoft is abusing its position (it doesn’t have to
pay itself a license fee for Windows 8, unlike other tablet makers choosing the
OS). Too high and the company isn’t taking advantage of its dual
software/hardware standing, and people who like notebooks will just buy cheaper
notebooks and the rest will stick with Apple.
For me, a £399 low-end, Windows RT Surface and a £549 Win 8
Surface would be perfect to slightly undercut Apple and tempt buyers away
without going too cheap.
From a developer standpoint, Surface and Windows 8 is a good
idea. That the OS shares the same core programming across Windows Phone 8, Windows
8 and the cheap-tab Windows RT should mean an integrated, focused approach from
developers in the future, with apps able to be created across three platforms
at once, easily. Meaning more to download, install and enjoy whatever Microsoft
device you buy.
Whatever happens, Microsoft needs Surface to succeed. Tablet
sales are still growing at an enormous pace, alongside smartphones, while PC
sales continue to decline – and Apple is just watching the Windows-dominated PC
market yield to an Apple-owned tablet one.
It’s going to be an interesting few years for tablets and
PCs - the battle is far from won for Apple and iPad. It feels like we’ve barely
scratched the surface.
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