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Can Microsoft's Surface tablet beat Apple's iPad?

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PC Advisor

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Posted June 19, 2012 at 2:25PM

Let us know what you think about Microsoft's Surface Tablets. See Microsoft Surface review

Poll: Can Microsoft's Surface tablet beat Apple's iPad?

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Condom

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Posted June 19, 2012 at 3:13PM

I have an iPad but it is restrictive in many ways and I'm also not a great fan of iTunes.

At last we have a built in USB port and with the Pro version having USB3 it will allow me to continue to work on my huge music collection. I will no longer need the flimsy USB add on to plug into my iPad.

It looks as if it has a decent keyboard which sounds better than my bluetooth one I have for my iPad. Yes I would buy one but not until I see how Win 8 works which I really haven't tried as yet apart from a few hours with a Nokia phone.

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interzone55

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Posted June 19, 2012 at 5:11PM

I'd need to see the price.

The iPad is a gorgeous piece of technology that is hobbled by the restrictions that Apple place on their hardware.

The Microsoft tablet will hopefully allow the user to work with the unit without anything like the dreadful piece of malware that is iTunes (how can a company that is supposed to have hardware & software "that just works" sleep at night after foisting iTunes on the world?).

Now I'll sit back and wait for the flames from Apple fans :-)

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canarieslover

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Posted June 19, 2012 at 6:33PM

I'm not a fan of Apple but on a trip to Lakeside shopping centre this afternoon I noticed that the Apple store had a lot more customers in it than any of the other tech stores. It was also very noticeable that the average age of customer seemed to be much lower than the likes of PC World etc. It appears to have a fashion type of following in the same way as manufactures like Nike so it may be hard for Microsoft to pull back the substantial head start that they have allowed Apple to gain in this field. Unless Win 8 performs much better on a tablet than it does on my PC then I can't see Microsoft catching Apple at all. Hopefully I am proved wrong as it is always good for the consumer to have more than one company vying for your money with capable alternatives.

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Forum Editor

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Posted June 19, 2012 at 6:55PM

alan14

the dreadful piece of malware that is iTunes

I must be using a different version than you. I use iTunes all the time, and have done for a long time. It works perfectly for me. You don't have to be an Apple fan to appreciate a product.

I agree with you that the iPad is a "gorgeous piece of technology" and that it is certainly hampered by some restrictions. Chief among those is its inability to play Flash files, followed by its poor connectivity and upgrade options.

The Microsoft offering sounds good, but we'll see. This is Microsoft's début into the computer hardware market, and there may be some issues. On the face of it the MS Surface has plenty going for it - not the least of which is that it will make an ideal mobile office platform. It will need to do much more than that however, if it is to come close to challenging the likes of the iPad.

Let's wait and see. A lot will depend on the price point, and on its 'object of desire' factor.

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bremner

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Posted June 19, 2012 at 7:02PM

As an Apple fan I truly hope that the MS tablet is a real competitor for the iPad. With no real competition Apple can pretty do what it likes knowing people will still buy it.

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bremner

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Posted June 19, 2012 at 7:07PM

I think MS have said they will not support Flash either on their tablet version of W8. No Flash .

Too memory and battery hungry, HTML5 will become the defacto format it seems.

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interzone55

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Posted June 19, 2012 at 7:41PM

Forum Editor

I've installed iTunes on three PCs, never by choice, but it's the only way to use an iPod. Each time I've had problems with the PC afterwards. Once iTunes installed Safari on a PC completely without my permission - I'd love to see what trouble Microsoft would be in if they tried that trick.

Again, iPod's look good, but the sound is appalling, too much treble

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bremner

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Posted June 19, 2012 at 10:09PM

Once iTunes installed Safari on a PC completely without my permission

No - you failed to spot the point in the installation when you could have take the tick out of the option to install Safari.

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Aitchbee

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Posted June 19, 2012 at 10:28PM

When I'm on the bus, I always 'have a keek' look (shifty) at what the fellow passengers are deploying as means of communication/listening ....gadgets in general...as long as they don't make too much noise (silence is golden), then I don't mind.

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ams4127

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Posted June 19, 2012 at 10:28PM

I also, have iTunes installed and have had no problems with it whatsoever.

As to this Surface tablet which MS are going to launch, two things strike me. First, it seems like the first logical use for Windows 8 that I have seen and, secondly, it's success or failure will depend on it's price.

Would it tempt me away from my iPad? Possibly, and mainly because of multitasking (one of my iPad hates).

Microsoft are an enormous, very powerful company. Ignore them at your peril.

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