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Microsoft Surface Tablet Will Attempt To Outflank Apple At Work And At Play

This article is more than 10 years old.

Not to gloat, but my story from yesterday, Will the Microsoft Tablet be "Good Enough" for Cord Cutters, Strong Enough for Business?, got the Microsoft announcement right. Which tablet did they decide to go with, one for gamers or for office workers? Both!

Microsoft is aiming at all of Apple's weak points in a very strategic way that ultimately will increase competition in the tablet market in a more significant way than any Android or Blackberry tablet has. This will ultimately be good for businesses and consumers.

The language on the official Surface about page reads, "From touch to type, office to living room, from your screen to the big screen, you can see more, share more, and do more with Surface. Create, collaborate, and get stuff done with Office. Explore your world with fast, fluid Windows 8 apps. Discover new music, movies, and games in the Windows Store."

The surface is actually two distinctly different products united by a form factor and available accessories. First up will be the Surface for Windows RT, due to be released late this year in coordination with the release of Windows 8. The RT device is a consumer device like the iPad and will also run an NVidia's ARM processor. Three months later, Microsoft is planning to release the Surface for Windows 8, which will run an Intel Ivy Bridge i5 core processor. The additional processing power will enable the Windows 8 device to be a true business productivity machine capable of running its own high performance software, like full Microsoft Office apps.

The screens for both devices will be 10.6” ClearType HD Displays, which is slightly larger than the 9.8" iPad screens. The Surface RT will also have a micro HDMI port allowing you to connect it directly to a big screen monitor, no AirPlay or Xbox required.

Both machines have two choices for covers, both which include integrated keyboards—one touch, one physical—that are supposed to be vastly superior than the iPad's on-screen keyboard. The RT will come bundled with Office Home & Student 2013 RT software and the Pro will come with a pen input device. There was no mention of SmartGlass, but it is assumed to be supported by both Windows RT and 8.

No question, Microsoft is still a serious underdog here, but they are playing their hand about as well as could be imagined. Here are the ways they are trying to capitalize on Apple's possible weak points with the introduction of Surface:

1. Appeal to Gamers: Xbox is a serious gaming platform, the iPad is not. Microsoft is betting that if they can quickly introduce a consumer tablet that can drive a big screen and be a game play companion through SmartGlass, they can capture the attention of their existing Xbox customers. As a side benefit, Microsoft could make inroads into the casual game market as well directly through the new device.

2. Appeal to Cord Cutters: As I said yesterday, "Apple’s 'non-announcement' last week about their own big-screen offerings," creates an opportunity for Microsoft, who has been making streaming deals with Netflix, Hulu and ESPN through Xbox, to quickly emerge as a cable alternative, complete with a portable viewer and a fully featured companion screen/controller.

3. Appeal to Businesses: Just as Microsoft is attempting to roll out a better consumer entertainment device than the iPad on one side, they are also trying to outflank Apple on the other side by creating a true business tablet with ultrabook-like processing capacity (up to 7 times faster than the iPad's ARM chip). As Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said today, "People want portability without compromising PC productivity."

4. Appeal to Mobile Makers: The iPad is a very appealing tool for people who want a lightweight device to create with on the go, but the inefficiency of the keyboard input and other technical limitations have made it better for consuming than producing content. I realize that many companies are working this problem, but the RT with it's improved, built-in keyboard options and the Pro with the keyboard plus a real laptop grade processor may be a better alternative, sooner, for creative road warriors and café denizens.

5. Appeal as a Multi-Screen Alternative: With Windows Phone 8 expected to be announced on Wednesday, and the full Windows 8 and the Surface RT tablet due out before the end of the year, Microsoft is creating a fully featured alternative multi-device computing ecosystem to Apple's. Competition and choice is good for consumers, so we can only hope for their success. Ironically, a reinvigorated Windows alternative is a good hedge against the monopolistic tendencies of both Google and Apple, and will lead to further innovations from those companies as well.

Ballmer articulated the crux of Microsoft's tablet strategy at today's announcement. "People want to create and consume," he said. "They want to work and they want to play." He's aiming the Surface to be a harder working, purer play than the iPad. Let's see if it's a hit.