BitShare

Microsoft may have just knocked the wind out of Apple

Microsoft may have just changed the tablet game with a single device that looks to compete with Apple’s iPad, and by the way things are looking so far, it has a very good chance at hitting Apple where it hurts. Microsoft just unveiled it’s latest gift to humanity, called the Surface.

The Microsoft Surface is a touchscreen tablet. The Surface is 9.3mm thin and weighs just 1.5lbs. The magnesium case is lightweight and it comes with hard “Gorilla” glass in case you drop it. Since Surface is a Microsoft product, it will be fully compatible with all things Microsoft - think Word, Excel, Outlook and the whole Office Suite. Surface will even work with the Xbox. This is a huge advantage, plus Surface will run the new Windows 8, with the Metro environment specifically made for the touchscreen experience.

The best, or most fun part in my opinion is the cover. Similar to iPad’s magnetic attaching cover, Microsoft took that (clearly) but improved it by a thousand. The Surface cover is actually a functional keyboard, with different color options. The tablet also has a kickstand that pops out from the back for multi-functional use.

It’s a bit early to know how successful, or not, the Surface will be. But if one of the keys will be the price point. It’s unknown yet what it will cost, but if it’s comparable to the iPad or less, Microsoft might have a winner on it’s hands and Apple may have a problem.