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I think I know what Microsoft's iPad Competitor Is..
- Thread starter iRance
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there is no true iPad competitor. Even android tablets that offer more for less money cant compete with the iPad.
Surface has miles to go before it can compete. The few times I've tried it, it's clunky and had poor touch response.
Mildly interested to see what Windows 7 Mobile will look like, but it won't drive me away from iPad/iPhone, I'm pretty sure.
Mildly interested to see what Windows 7 Mobile will look like, but it won't drive me away from iPad/iPhone, I'm pretty sure.
Microsoft will not make a tablet PC until its ready for enterprise/B2B use. Bill Gates, when pressed about the iPad, noted that its not a worthy device as it does not have stylus input. I would agree to this, as most business users would have a hard time typing on the device itself.
Remember, Apple is a consumer-based company, and Microsoft caters more towards businesses.
Remember, Apple is a consumer-based company, and Microsoft caters more towards businesses.
If there's money to be made, they'll release it. Gates is good for sound bites but he's not running the company.
Probably easier to type on an iPad rather than 'typing' on a stylus based tablet PC (I know as I have a Lenovo X61 Tablet in the office - without stylus at the moment cos it's gone walkies).
It would be. Resistive screens aren't great for touch input because they rely on pressure to work.
ummm - of course you do know that Surface doesn't use a regular touchscreen. instead it used a bunch of IR cameras below the tabletop glass to detect touches. completely different technology than tablet PCs, so not gonna be as thin as an iPad - at least using the technology that they demo'ed and called Surface.
there's a reason it was a big thick table.
So that's why MSFT is a software company. They can't do software very well, but they really can't do hardware.
Their mice and keyboards have been top notch at times. The first Xbox was pretty ugly but it was a decent console.
Though it certainly doesn't need to be given that Apple owns all the handwriting technology from Newton. But SJ killed that platform and no way is he going to allow for iPad to be associated in any way with Newton.... This is very unfortunate.
I think the issue is more that Steve hates the idea of people using a stylus.
Unfortunately the stylus is the best tool for the job sometimes. Copying down mathematical diagrams just isn't going to happen without one.
MS just needs to create their own hardware and put windoze phone 7 os on it. It would be pretty slick, the windoze phone 7 has a very nice looking UI - I'd be interested a checking one out, especially if it ran office.
The problem with any iPad competitor, be it from MS, HP, or anyone else, is that right now it's looking like (from whats been shown so far) too little too late. Apple is so far out in front with the iPad now that any notion of putting something out there that looks a little like the iPad is simply repeating the same formula that put the iPod way out on top of the so-called iPod killers from the first half of the decade. Some of the biggest names in technology, including Sony, Microsoft, etc., put out their half-baked, third-rate mp3 players thinking that if it looked a little like the frontrunner, suckers would buy the thing in droves. The results were as predictable as they were obvious. Apple could have had some serious competition in the early days of the iPod, but no competitor took the time to understand why the iPod was a success. No one. Apple was effectively handed the market for portable mp3 players.
I have a feeling this is going to be yet another episode of utter competitive stupidity. If MS or HP or any of the usual suspects puts out something that's based on what we have seen so far - forget it. Game over. Apple wins.
If, on the other hand, Apple's competitors go back to the drawing board and think about what the next stage will be in the evolution of the iPad, and hits the market with that before Apple does, then maybe, just maybe, they would have a chance.
But it ain't gonna happen. The competition will do what they always do, put something out there that looks a little like the iPad and leave it to marketing to do the rest. Because they are too stupid and lazy and cheap to do anything else.
I have a feeling this is going to be yet another episode of utter competitive stupidity. If MS or HP or any of the usual suspects puts out something that's based on what we have seen so far - forget it. Game over. Apple wins.
If, on the other hand, Apple's competitors go back to the drawing board and think about what the next stage will be in the evolution of the iPad, and hits the market with that before Apple does, then maybe, just maybe, they would have a chance.
But it ain't gonna happen. The competition will do what they always do, put something out there that looks a little like the iPad and leave it to marketing to do the rest. Because they are too stupid and lazy and cheap to do anything else.
We'll see. None of these products are on the market yet. I doubt Microsoft is going to be a serious competitor but Android and WebOS might be.
If and when notion ink releases the Adam there is a good chance I will sell my iPad and get that instead.
+1
but it seems like the notion ink is increasingly becoming vaporware.. only time will tell..
You're right! I forgot about Xbox! I love my 360!
Maybe they can do hardware after all.
God, the idea of this kind of thing as been around for years.
It really is a niche market. It is also designed for multi-user interaction, unlike the iPad
Most scenarios that I can it being more useful are if it was vertical rather than as a table.
You're right. The entire idea of touch computing is very enticing, but my finger will not be able to do as good of a job as a stylus in terms of writing. Even trying to do relatively simple diagrams is not that easy without a stylus.