Touting Windows 8, Microsoft pokes Apple's iPad again over multitasking
Still looking to carve out a space for itself in the new wave of mobile computing, Microsoft is once again taking shots at Apple's iPad, this time pointing out Windows 8 devices' ability to handle multiple tasks at the same time.
The new ad is pushing no single device in particular, but instead focuses on the multitasking capabilities of the Windows 8 platform, which Microsoft designed to address both the needs of traditional computer users and the growing number of consumers who prefer the touch interfaces seen on tablets and smartphones. In the spot, a Windows 8 users is seen videoconferencing with his superior and at the same time checking another app for vital information, while his somewhat addled, iPad owning competitor can't do both things at the same time.
The multitasking feature Windows 8 brings to the table is relatively novel among mobile platforms, though not entirely unheard of. Apple's iPad doesn't allow users to have more than one app on screen at a time, but a number of Android device manufacturers ? including Samsung with its Galaxy Note and Galaxy S devices ? have enabled similar but more limited interfaces.
The ad is just the latest attack piece from Microsoft, which has taken to making fun of the limitations of Apple devices as the Redmond company finds itself in the unfamiliar position of trying to catch up. The PC market, a market Microsoft still dominates, isin a steep decline as smartphones and tablets grow in popularity, and Windows 8 has so far failed to reassure manufacturers that it can reverse this trend.
Microsoft launched Windows 8 with a $1 billion marketing campaign, showing off the devices of its manufacturing partners, as well as its own Surface devices alongside Windows Phone 8, also meant to make space for Windows in the smartphone and tablet computing world.
The campaign's results have been middling at best. Windows 8 tablets have grown from zero to seven percent of shipped devices, but they still lag far behind Apple, which held roughly half the tablet market in April.
As of late, Microsoft has been targeting Apple specifically, pointing out the limitations of iOS devices versus their Windows counterparts. Prior to this most recent commercial, Microsoft used Apple's digital assistant Siri to highlight iOS' multitasking limitations, painting the bestselling Apple tablet as a mere consumption and game device instead of a true platform for productivity.
The new ad is pushing no single device in particular, but instead focuses on the multitasking capabilities of the Windows 8 platform, which Microsoft designed to address both the needs of traditional computer users and the growing number of consumers who prefer the touch interfaces seen on tablets and smartphones. In the spot, a Windows 8 users is seen videoconferencing with his superior and at the same time checking another app for vital information, while his somewhat addled, iPad owning competitor can't do both things at the same time.
The multitasking feature Windows 8 brings to the table is relatively novel among mobile platforms, though not entirely unheard of. Apple's iPad doesn't allow users to have more than one app on screen at a time, but a number of Android device manufacturers ? including Samsung with its Galaxy Note and Galaxy S devices ? have enabled similar but more limited interfaces.
The ad is just the latest attack piece from Microsoft, which has taken to making fun of the limitations of Apple devices as the Redmond company finds itself in the unfamiliar position of trying to catch up. The PC market, a market Microsoft still dominates, isin a steep decline as smartphones and tablets grow in popularity, and Windows 8 has so far failed to reassure manufacturers that it can reverse this trend.
Microsoft launched Windows 8 with a $1 billion marketing campaign, showing off the devices of its manufacturing partners, as well as its own Surface devices alongside Windows Phone 8, also meant to make space for Windows in the smartphone and tablet computing world.
The campaign's results have been middling at best. Windows 8 tablets have grown from zero to seven percent of shipped devices, but they still lag far behind Apple, which held roughly half the tablet market in April.
As of late, Microsoft has been targeting Apple specifically, pointing out the limitations of iOS devices versus their Windows counterparts. Prior to this most recent commercial, Microsoft used Apple's digital assistant Siri to highlight iOS' multitasking limitations, painting the bestselling Apple tablet as a mere consumption and game device instead of a true platform for productivity.
Comments
Would anyone not notice the fact that the feature the ad highlights has no practical purpose in that setting?
*yawn* Can't wait for a new Microsoft ad campaign, this one is getting old...
Has anyone noticed that Apple sells its devices like wildfires with no comparison to Windows devices? Enough said.
Since when does a Surface come with 4G/LTE? Oh, all bush league fields have free WI-FI, I forgot.......
Quote:
Originally Posted by cabassi
Radjin, Rcoleman1, ever heard of the "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" campaign?
That was not comparing features or capabilities so much as the user experience.
Wow, that was awesome! I want to get one. Wait, what product was it?
Microsoft keeps saying with these ads "Hey, don't you guys really want a tablet that is actually a computer?", but most people who are buying iPads get them because they HATE computers.
More specifically they hate the part of the computer that Microsoft provides - Windows.... And seemingly especially windows 8. And then Microsoft wonder why Surface isn't selling well...
Nobody dancing? He's definitely not getting the full computer experience.
All I know is that I was in a retail store the other day and tried out the Surface and while there might be a way to multitask, whatever it is is not intuitive and I kept having to hit the home button (which was not very responsive) to move to another app. Also, the damned thing was so incredibly slow, I was ready to punch the screen. There are certain aspects of the interface that I think are compelling - that horizontal orientation does work for certain kinds of apps, but overall, I only would have considered buying one if it had been $150 or less and even then, only to give to my 87-year-old mother to replace a barely-working old Dell that she has.
All of these ads, including Apple's, frequently show video calls, but in real life, how many people really make video calls and when they do so, have to access another app aside from possibly having to look up a contact or a map location? Don't you have to be on the same platform for video calling to work?
go figger.
Quote:
Originally Posted by watashi
Seriously. My boss never trusts what I tell him unless he has a clear view of my nostrils.
Would anyone not notice the fact that the feature the ad highlights has no practical purpose in that setting?
Microsoft has the "Let's throw every conceivable feature we can think of so we develop the comparison chart and have more checks on it than the competition, even though the rest of the product SUCKS" Traditional in many industries, computer industry ESPECIALLY does this. It's called Product Marketing 101. They have these feature comparisons between one product and another. It's always impressive to see a list of 20 or 30 features compared against 3 or 4 competitors and your company has all of them checked off (surprise surprise) and the competitors have only a handful. WOW, Isn't that better Mr. Customer? We have more things checked off on OUR comparison list of features (most of them irrelevant to using the product, practical, needed, etc.) to prove to the customer that we're BETTER. The bottom line, The Surface RT is more closely related to the iPad, only cheaper because no one is buying it and there are very few apps on the platform. The Surface Pro is more like a netbook/Ultrabook computer that just happens to ACT like a tablet, but it's heavier, less battery life, thicker, etc. and it's just a better PC Tablet (slab) than previous revisions, but it's still not light enough, long battery life, thin, enough finger touch apps like an iPad. Yeah, Apple's adding multi tasking, but since these screens are only so big, it doesn't have much room to play with for more apps visually on the screen. I'm sure it might be cool for SOME things, but we're still in the "pipe dream" stage. Microsoft and Samsung seem to be on the desperation ad attacks because Apple is still a couple of months away from iOS 7 and a new raft of iPads, iPhones, etc. being introduced, because once Apple makes their public releases, it's a feeding frenzy and Samsung and Microsoft become irrelevant, AGAIN.