Microsoft rehashes old arguments in latest anti-iPad Surface ad
Microsoft continued to bash the iPad in its latest Surface RT commercial, this time digging up and re-airing old arguments against the Apple tablet, like a lack of keyboard and higher price point.
Unlike Microsoft's first ad in its anti-iPad campaign, Wednesday's commercial doesn't rely on Siri to point out the perceived shortcomings of Apple's tablet. Instead, the two devices are pitted against each other in multiple side-by-side comparisons, most being favorable to the Surface RT.
The spot, aptly titled "Surface RT vs. iPad," begins with physical measurements, which shows both tablets as being 0.37 inches thick. The fourth-generation iPad comes in somewhat lighter at 1.44 pounds, compared to 1.5 pounds for the Surface, but immediately following that specification is a notation for screen size.
Apple's iPad uses a 9.7-inch Retina display with a 4:3 aspect ratio, while the Surface RT is equipped with a 10.6-inch panel in a 16:9 ratio. The commercial fails to mention resolution, which on the iPad is 2,048-by-1,536 pixels, or 264 pixels per inch, substantially more dense than the RT's 148 ppi, 1,366-by-768 pixel display.
Next, the ad touts the Surface RT's built-in kickstand and attachable keyboard, two features missing on the iPad. Microsoft mentions in small print that the keyboard is sold separately, but fails to reveal the add-on's $100 price tag.
On the software side, the iPad is shown to come standard with the Quick Look document viewer, while the RT comes with Microsoft Office. Rumors regarding an MS Office app for iOS have been circulating since 2011, but only recently has Redmond released a companion app for iPhone. Multitasking is another feature that RT holds over the iPad, with multiscreen viewing currently unavailable in iOS.
Hitting on the same old notes, the RT's built-in USB port was highlighted in the latest spot as a USB flash drive was plugged into the tablet's side. The iPad had to use Apple's USB to Lightning adapter.
Finally, as with all of Microsoft's recent Surface vs. iPad ads, a price comparison was made between the $499 Apple tablet and the $349 RT. Microsoft was forced to slash the Surface RT's price by $150 in July due to presumably slow sales, bringing the tablet down to $349.
Although no hard shipment numbers have been revealed, Microsoft's 10-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last week showed Surface revenue at $853 million since the device launched in October 2012. If an average sales price of $500 ? the original price of the Surface RT ? is factored into the revenue total, it would mean roughly 1.7 million Surface units were sold in the eight months leading up to the SEC filing.
When considering the $900 million write down for unsold units, as well as $898 million in advertising earmarked for Windows 8 and Surface, Microsoft's tablet experiment is deep in the red.
Unlike Microsoft's first ad in its anti-iPad campaign, Wednesday's commercial doesn't rely on Siri to point out the perceived shortcomings of Apple's tablet. Instead, the two devices are pitted against each other in multiple side-by-side comparisons, most being favorable to the Surface RT.
The spot, aptly titled "Surface RT vs. iPad," begins with physical measurements, which shows both tablets as being 0.37 inches thick. The fourth-generation iPad comes in somewhat lighter at 1.44 pounds, compared to 1.5 pounds for the Surface, but immediately following that specification is a notation for screen size.
Apple's iPad uses a 9.7-inch Retina display with a 4:3 aspect ratio, while the Surface RT is equipped with a 10.6-inch panel in a 16:9 ratio. The commercial fails to mention resolution, which on the iPad is 2,048-by-1,536 pixels, or 264 pixels per inch, substantially more dense than the RT's 148 ppi, 1,366-by-768 pixel display.
Next, the ad touts the Surface RT's built-in kickstand and attachable keyboard, two features missing on the iPad. Microsoft mentions in small print that the keyboard is sold separately, but fails to reveal the add-on's $100 price tag.
On the software side, the iPad is shown to come standard with the Quick Look document viewer, while the RT comes with Microsoft Office. Rumors regarding an MS Office app for iOS have been circulating since 2011, but only recently has Redmond released a companion app for iPhone. Multitasking is another feature that RT holds over the iPad, with multiscreen viewing currently unavailable in iOS.
Hitting on the same old notes, the RT's built-in USB port was highlighted in the latest spot as a USB flash drive was plugged into the tablet's side. The iPad had to use Apple's USB to Lightning adapter.
Finally, as with all of Microsoft's recent Surface vs. iPad ads, a price comparison was made between the $499 Apple tablet and the $349 RT. Microsoft was forced to slash the Surface RT's price by $150 in July due to presumably slow sales, bringing the tablet down to $349.
Although no hard shipment numbers have been revealed, Microsoft's 10-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last week showed Surface revenue at $853 million since the device launched in October 2012. If an average sales price of $500 ? the original price of the Surface RT ? is factored into the revenue total, it would mean roughly 1.7 million Surface units were sold in the eight months leading up to the SEC filing.
When considering the $900 million write down for unsold units, as well as $898 million in advertising earmarked for Windows 8 and Surface, Microsoft's tablet experiment is deep in the red.
Comments
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alfiejr
pathetic last gasps of another doomed MS effort
I have to agree with you.
Here we go again with radically inaccurate size comparison.
This is what the comparison should look like (the actual screen size minus the bezel)
So why are sales in the dump...zero decent apps outside of supplied ones. Is it fun....Nope.
Does it take 45 swipes to reach something simple like an address in your contacts...Yup. Is the screen blocky in comparison...Yup.
No the issue as I see it is that MS is caught in a stranglehold of clone branches they can no longer bargain their way out of. Unique consumer worthy products people actually use and love are designed with people first, not antiquated software business systems that no longer are the pivot decision making point for purchasing. There was a time a full home MS Office license was included with a new system, but no longer. Stripped down Office apps designed to lock you into a document centric ecosystem no longer excites us. Drop the excess baggage MS and focus on your strengths. Open your doors to new companies that you can create apps for. Imagine if Office was included on every IOS device (with license fees naturally) but they were put to Apple's software testing and design rules so they would work perfectly on IOS devices. MS could be rolling in the moola on licensing fees alone and never ever need to produce another physical media box again. Happy IOS users would be happier that their favourite computing tools just worked at the office as easily as they did at home.
A thought. Sometimes being friends pays off.
Somebody needs to tell MS that iPads can use keyboards. The original iPad had a keyboard dock as an option and many 3rd party manufacturers continue to make them. A simple Google (or Bing, if you're desperate) will give many, many results. Also, any iOS device can use any Bluetooth keyboard. And it doesn't even have to be attached! Microsoft keeps harping on this and it makes it look like a keyboard is REQUIRED to use a Surface tablet.
That, and if you need a kick-stand, Apple sells a nice MAGNETICALLY attached screen cover that folds into a stand. (Gee, I wonder where MS got the idea of magnetically attaching things to the Surface?!?)
Go ahead MS ask Surface's SIRIesk feature about that! Oh, wait, Windows 8 doesn't do that...
I mentioned this before and I'll say it again.
Microsoft should have waited until this year to launch Surface devices running Windows 8.1. A Basic model, using Intel's brand new Bay Trail architecture and a Pro model, using fanless Haswell (Y-Series). This way, the devices can be lightweight, offer a long battery life as well as the performance needed for a full version of Windows 8.1.
The push on Windows RT was destined for failure. ARM inside a tablet is a losing battle, X86 is here.
As a result, the Surface RT had a nice build, but horrible performance and a useless version of Windows. Plagued by the Tegra 3 hardware it lacked what you would expect from a flagship product.
Meanwhile, the Surface Pro was one step forward, and two steps back. The device was plenty powerful, but it managed to forget it was a tablet, ie. the kind of device made for mobile versatility.
It's ads like these that turn me even more sour towards a company trying to fight their way to success. Rather than the bashing, show consumers the usefulness of the product, specifically what it can do better and how it may improve a specific persons life. Negative ads that bash scream desperation (which we know they are, being at the bottom) ... Perhaps that's why they continually are losing the uphill battle.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LAKings33
The push on Windows RT was destined for failure. ARM inside a tablet is a losing battle, X86 is here.
I think the idea is to have more closely related builds for your phone and your tablet hence ARM. I know nothing about Surface tablets but with current iPad and iPhone, there does not seem to be any underpowered performance problems. I doubt Apple will switch to X86 especially since they are now tweaking the CPU to their own specifications, something that is not possible with an Intel chip.
I wouldn't say 'slowly' … 'steadily' and I'd add 'happily', for sure.
mmmm … why are you commenting if you don't understand anti-Apple ads piss off Apple users? Hence it is relevant on AI. Can I say 'piss off' in America? It's not deemed all that bad in the UK