Microsoft Pits Its Surface RT Against Apple’s iPad; No Clear Winner

William Tell took aim at an apple in the classic story and hit a bulls-eye. Microsoft is trying to take a similar shot at Apple products in its new ad campaign and risks missing the mark. On a new website, Microsoft compares its Surface RT with Apple’s iPad and falls short too many times.

Microsoft launched its "iPad vs. Windows" campaign on a dedicated Web page that compares the iPad 4 to Surface RT and other tablets. But not all comparisons are in favor of Microsoft's offerings.

The new ads target weaknesses that Microsoft found in the iPad. Microsoft put up a page that compares four different Windows 8 tables to the iPad. The computer company doesn’t use its Surface RT in the ads attacking iPads, it uses the Asus VivoTab, but it features the Surface RT heavily. The problem is that Microsoft’s chart doesn’t make a very compelling case to declare the Surface RT as the clear winner.

The iPad comes out ahead of Microsoft on the first three items on the chart: thinness, battery life and weight. Microsoft then focuses on microSD/USB slots, Microsoft Office RT (standard on Surface RT), and multitasking.

Microsoft claims a price advantage of $100 when it compares the 32GB Surface RT (there is no 16GB Surface RT) with the 32GB iPad 4. But Microsoft fails to mention all of the apps that are available on the iPad. It also leaves out the relative lack of key apps on that are found on the RT (the RT is not backward compatible with Windows 7). The ads omit multiple key features like the iPad 4's 2,048x1,536 resolution display vs. the Surface RT's 1,366 x768 screen.

The Web page also features the HP Envy x2, which appears to be a better device to compare with the iPad. The HP Envy X2 has a combined tablet and its base battery life is rated at 14 hours. The tablet is thinner than the iPad. The Envy X2 has 64GB, and costs $599 compared with the 64GB iPad at a price of $699. The Envy x2 also runs all of the old Windows applications.

The Microsoft chart pits the Asus VivoTab Smart and Dell XPS 10 against the iPad. The XPS 10, which costs only $299, beats all the other 10-inch class tablets on price.