Last updated on 2012-10-18, by Tony

Surface vs iPad – Comparing Surface RT with iPad 3 in 13 Aspects Listed from A to P

As the first tablet released by software giant Microsoft, Surface tablet bears lofty expectation to waver the dominance of iPad series in tablet market. Since its release in summer this year, topics over Surface vs iPad has never ceased. Now with the official debut of Surface RT, the debate over the winner in the battle of Surface vs iPad is turning white hot. Besides that, some consumers even find it difficult to make a decision to choose from Microsoft Surface and The new iPad 3.

Therefore, comparing Surface RT with iPad 3 seems to be quite necessary. For one thing, users can make their own judgments over the winner in the competition of Surface vs iPad after the comparison; for another, consumers can acquire enough knowledge of both tablets via the comparison so as to choose the most suitable tablet for them. Here, the post will try to compare Surface RT with iPad 3 in 13 aspects listed from A to P.

A stands for App: To some extent, app can be a crucial factor to decide the function of a tablet. Therefore, a prominent advantages iPad 3 owning in the battle of iPad vs Surface is the access to numerous apps. With the support of Apple Store, iPad 3 users take full use of various apps to get best entertaining experience. As for newly released Surface RT, it still needs time to own as many apps as iPad 3 does.

B stands for Battery: With longer duration time, users are allowed to spend more entertaining time with their devices. Therefore, a long-lasting battery is desired by most tablet users. The new iPad 3 gets a 42.5Wh battery while Surface RT sports a 31.5 Wh one. When taking the energy-consuming Retina Display of iPad 3 into consideration, Surface RT seems to be the real winner in the battle of iPad vs Surface in terms of battery.

C stands for Chip: Microsoft tablet is equipped with Tegra 3 quad-core processor and The new iPad 3 gets dual-core A5 processor. It seems that Surface RT is more favored in this field. With the latest Nvidia chip, users can not only watch 3D movies on Surface RT but also play 3D games. Moreover, quad-core processor is still more attractive than dual-core one.

D stands for Display: The new iPad 3 is a 9.7-inch tablet while Surface RT is a 10.6 inch one. Besides that, Surface beats the iPad 3 in display quality. By adopting ClearType technology, Microsoft Surface does better in maintaining the contrast of the display than iPad 3. Moreover, the display of Surface RT can even be used as a skateboard in the official ad.

E stands for External Storage: With the Micro SD slot, Surface RT not only provides external storage for users but also make data transference to Surface RT a simple task. As for iPad 3, it only allows users to take full of the built-in storage and transfer data with third-party apps like iTunes.

F stands for Front Facer: Microsoft has hinted that both the rear camera and front facer of Surface RT can be used to record videos in 720p. Therefore, the front facer of Microsoft Surface will almost equally powerful as the rear camera. Even it is not, it is still better than the 0.3-megapixel front facer of iPad 3.

G stands for 4G: Microsoft Surface RT comes in a Wi-Fi-only variety without 3G/4G network support. Compared with Surface, The new iPad 3 can not only make full of Wi-Fi but also 4G network. Therefore, in this aspect, iPad 3 is the winner in the battle of Surface vs iPad 3.

H stands for High Resolution: The Retina Display of iPad 3 sports a resolution of 1920×1080 while the screen of Surface tablet only gets a resolution of 1280×720. Therefore, for consumers with a favor to high-resolution screen, iPad 3 seems to be a better choice.

I stands for Internet Browser: For Microsoft Surface users, they can surf the Internet with IE 10 and for iPad 3 users, they can enjoy online resources with Safari. To this extent, Surface RT wins over iPad 3 by a narrow margin because IE 10 performs better than Safari in speed and security,

K stands for Keyboard: The keyboard is a key advantage Surface RT gains over iPad 3. As an attracting point of Surface RT, the keyboard is a major innovation of the Microsoft tablet. In the design of Surface RT, the keyboard turns out to be a component of the tablet instead of merely an accessory. With the keyboard, Surface RT turns out to be a laptop. However, iPad 3 uses keyboard as an accessory.

M stands for Memory: The built-in memory of Surface RT starts with 32 GB while that of iPad 3 starts with 16 GB.

O stands for Operating System: As the lower version of Windows 8, Windows RT has started a new era where the lines used to divide tablet system and PC system becomes too vague to be seen. In other words, Windows RT can make tablet equally powerful as PC. For example, Surface RT users can take full advantages of Microsoft Office. Of course, other attracting points will be found on Windows 8 launch. To this extent, the system of iPad 3 sucks. It is even not the latest iOS system

P stands for Price: Surface with Windows RT is available with a price of 499 dollars while iPad 3 with Wi-Fi only starts at 599 dollars. Therefore, Surface RT is a more favored by those budget conscious buyers who take the 100-dollar marge into full consideration.