Apple recently unveiled the new version of its tablet devices the iPad Air. Meanwhile Microsoft has recently debuted its Surface 2 tablet. Both company's have been using the recent tablet wars to take not-so subtle shots at one another. With all of the corporate tug-of-war happening many must be wondering which device is actually better than the other. Below is a list of 9 considerations anyone looking to purchase one of these two devices should think about, courtesy of InformationWeek.
Both Are Thin and Light: The new iPad is so thin that the company was forced to change the name of the device to give it the "Air" moniker, weighing in at just one pound. Meanwhile, the Surface 2 is a bit bigger but is still very portable and easy to carry around. So if you're wondering which device will be more mobile, the iPad air wins by an extremely negligible amount.
Biggest Screen: The Surface 2 wins the display-size race at 10.6-inches, 16:9 screen with 1080p resolution. The iPad Air has slightly smaller 9.7-inch screen but more pixels. The screen also comes with a thinner bezel, styled after the one in the iPad mini.
Both Devices Emphasize Productivity: Both are loaded with productivity apps. The iPad Air makes owners entitled to free downloads of iWork and iLife. The Surface 2 comes preloaded with Office Home and Student 2013 RT. Information Week gives Office the edge in this scenario due to its familiarity with customers.
The Surface 2 apps have less difficulty multitasking than the iOS 7 device. Although Apple has improved its multitasking with the new iOS, it's still not as good as Windows 8.
Construction: Apple holds the reputation as the industry's leader in industrial design but the Surface 2 is no slouch. This one ends up being a tie.
Speed: The Surface 2, which runs on Nvidia's Tegra 4 chip, is much more responsive than its predecessor. However, the iPad Air is probably faster. Apple's super-responsive new iPhone 5S with its A7 processor promises one of the fastest computing experiences for a tablet.
Peripherals: Apple once again has no built-in peripheral ports. This means no USB use or clip-on keyboards. However, with cloud storage becoming more common, ports might not be the necessity they once were.
Better Operating System: While Windows 8 is better at multitasking iOS 7 holds the crown for ease of use. Apple's new redesign has received praise for its design while Windows 8 continues to receive criticism.
Apps: The Surface 2 has better apps but the iPad has more. The Sruface 2 owners get several app-related perks like a 200GB free SkyDrive cloud storage for two years and a year of free Skype WiFi at more than 2 million hotspots. However, the iPad still has the edge offering by far the largest amount of apps on the market.
Price: iPad Air: $499 for 16GB, $629 16GB LTE - Surface Pro: $449 32GB model no pricing set yet on LTE model.
A more complete list of these considerations can be found HERE via Information Week.
