So, it happened: Microsoft revealed to the world its new tablet. And this is big. Mostly because it’s the first time Microsoft tries to build it’s own PC. For a company that has always relied on independent hardware partners, this is a complete change of direction that may dictate the trends in the Windows space for the future.
Now, the question everyone is asking is: “How is it compared to the iPad?”. And I think that’s the wrong question to ask, as I will explain in the following lines.
First, we need a bit of context. The Surface will come in two flavors:
- ARM-based, runs only Metro apps over Windows RT, has Office embedded in it and has two options of storage: 32 or 64GB
- Intel-based, runs any PC app over Windows 8 Pro, has pen input and two options of storage: 64GB or 128GB
Although Microsoft hasn’t talked about pricing, they said the ARM version would be competitive with tablets and the Intel version would be competitive with entry-level ultrabooks. So we can do some math on the market averages and estimate that the prices will start at $500 for the ARM model and $1000 for the Intel-based.
These price points, plus the hardware configurations, essentially break the Surface into two separate product categories: one to take on the consumer tablet market and another to get into the ultraportable business PCs.
On the tablet side, things look good for Microsoft. We don’t know if it’s an iPad killer (probably not in the short/medium term, since the iPad alone has nearly double of market share compared to its competitors together, added to the fact that Apple captures the vast majority of profits as well), but it looks like a solid competitor to most tablets. And it doesn’t carry most of the legacy of PCs, since it’ll run only Metro-based apps — I like to think about this as Windows Phone 7 on steroids. If apps for this aren’t just scaled up versions of Windows Phone 7 apps, then this will have potential to kick the butt of all Android tablets.
On the other side, we have essentially a notebook/tablet hybrid. Powered by an Ivy Bridge architecture Intel Core i5, the Windows 8 Pro model is a full blown PC which carries all the PC legacy with it, for the good and the bad. This includes most of bloatware plaguing Windows today: “security” apps which eat most of the resources and other kinds of crapware we all know about. All that powered by a 42 Wh battery, which is smaller than the iPad’s, but bigger than the 11” MacBook Air’s. Will that be enough, especially knowing that Microsoft was never known for energy-efficiency? To be honest, this model looks like something with an identity crisis (does HP Slate ring a bell?).
So the right question to ask about these is: “Are they going to put Microsoft back into business?”. For the consumer tablet market, I believe so. It looks more polished than all Android tablets out there (including the Kindle Fire). When I wrote about the best products of 2010, I said the iPad was the most polished 1st-generation tech product ever made. And I think Microsoft may steal that title from it with this Windows RT version, so I can’t wait to get my hands on that.
As for the other tablet… well, there were multiple tries in history to create a tablet PC, and all failed. And I don’t think this has anything different to change that, because it’s just a PC in drags. And PCs are (and always have been) all about specs, which Microsoft refused to show. PC veterans will look at the specs when they’re out and compare them to the equivalent ultrabook, which will probably be more powerful for the same price. And that might be the end of this tablet PC.
Or… by focusing on user experience rather than specs, Microsoft may change the rulebook for PCs, which is good. Frankly, the average user doesn’t give a crap about specs as long as the thing they bought works as expected, so this could be an important move towards simplification of PC-buying for most people.
If that will work or not, only the future will tell. For now, I’m just eager to test these babies.