Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you have heard about Microsoft Surface™, coming summer/fall 2012. But can this tablet compete with the iPad? With the little information we know, we think so. Especially for business users, the Surface could really be a game changer. We asked our Enterhost team of experts their thoughts.
“MS Office is a plus for business users. iPad doesn’t offer this, making it more of a personal tablet.”
“With Windows 8 coming out for desktops this summer, it will look just like the OS on the Surface and I’m sure it will use the same cloud features as iPad. They will play well together and seem transparent to the users.”
“I think it’s good, if the price is under $800. Why carry a laptop and a tablet when you are on the go?”
“When Windows 8′s ‘Cloud’ features are extended to AD, this becomes all the more relevant. Its ability to tie into existing MSFT arch will be really exciting.”
“The USB is a huge improvement from the iPad. You can print, share, or charge your phone on-the-go.”
“I like the all-in-one features with the keyboard. And the addition of a cursor makes it easier for business users with their Office apps.”
“Seems very thin and light.”
“Adding it to a domain and using exchange will be great.”
This work-friendly tablet has a touch interface very much like the iPad, and could intrigue business professionals if it makes it easier to access enterprise apps. However, CEOs, CIOs and business executives will have to adapt to the new Windows 8 interface before they adapt to the new tablet. People are already used to the interface of their iPad because of the iPhone, but the Windows 8 will be a whole new experience (unless they’ve recently purchased the Windows smartphone).
According to Business Insider, here is the breakdown comparison between the two configurations and the iPad. Notice the Surface will have two configurations, the RT (tablet-only interface) and the RT Pro (will run the full version of Windows 8).
| Spec | Surface RT | Surface Pro | New iPad (Third Generation) |
| Operating System | Windows RT | Windows 8 | iOS 5 |
| Weight | 1.49 lbs | 1.99 lbs | 1.44 lbs (Wi-Fi model), 1.46 lbs (Wi-Fi + Cellular model) |
| Thickness | 9.3 mm | 13.5 mm | 9.4 mm |
| Battery | 31.5 W-h battery, no word on battery life | 42 W-h battery, no word on battery life | 42.5 W-h battery, 10 hours of life on Wi-Fi, 9 hours of life on cellular |
| Storage | 32 GB or 64 GB | 64 GB or 128 GB | 16 GB, 32 GB, or 64 GB |
| Ports | USB 2.0, Micro SD | USB 3.0, Micro SD | Charging port |
| Processor, RAM | Nvidia ARM processor (no specifics on speed yet) | Intel Core i5 (no specifics on speed yet) | Dual-core 1GHz A5X, 1 GB RAM |
| Data Connection | Wi-Fi only | Wi-Fi only | Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi with 4G LTE, or Wi-Fi with 3G (depending on country and carrier) |
View a full photo gallery of the Surface™ here.