Microsoft

The iPad mini means ‘very tough’ holiday for Windows 8 sales

Ed Sutherland ∙ November 2, 2012

Yes, the iPad mini is indeed going to be competitors' worst nightmare. But Apple's new 7.9-inch tablet won't be terrorizing Android tablets as much as the last vestiges of PCs - many now with Microsoft's new Windows 8. On the eve of sales of Apple smaller tablet, the Sterne Agee analyst said Apple has its bulls-eye on PCs and Windows. Clarifying his earlier "nightmare" comment, Wu said observers who believe the new device is chiefly aimed at Android tablets such as Amazon's Kindle Fire HD or Google's Nexus 7 "miss the point"...

Jony Ive expected to ditch reality for greater minimalism

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

Do you love that linen-like background when logging into your iOS or Mac device? Well, it could be the most visible fatality as minimalism overtakes realism and design chief Jonathan Ive takes the reigns once held by iOS honcho Scott Forstall. That noise you hear is the splintering of the Jobs era and Cook era at Apple.

Forstall, who headed iOS development, was also the chief cheerleader of the late Steve Jobs. Jobs loved what design geeks term skeuomorphism, a Greek word meaning a tool's shape. In computer design, placing realistic objects - such as linen on a screen or ebooks stored in a wooden bookshelf - are used to lend a sense of assurance, like seeing a familiar face among a crowd of strangers.

But with Jobs gone, voices within the Cupertino, California firm which simply hated this sort of design gained volume. A particularly vehement enemy of Forstall's design philosophy: Industrial design guru Jony Ive...

Maybe Microsoft should hire Forstall?

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 29, 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wwhv8U614Vo

In the hope that this will have an instant meme value, I just came across this nice little clip of somebody demoing saving a document in Microsoft Word Preview on the Surface RT tablet. Go past the break to join the discussion in the comments...

Microsoft’s Surface is more repairable than iPad 3

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 29, 2012

The repair experts over at iFixit pried open Microsoft's Surface RT tablet (model number 1516) and awarded the device a repairability score of four out of ten (ten is the easiest to repair), thanks to several components being modular and replaceable without requiring desoldering. Plus, the battery can be removed "pretty easily", iFixit notes.

This is better than a score of two out of ten for the third-generation iPad with Retina display, but lower than Amazon's Kindle Fire, which has an impressive eight out of ten repairability score. Google's seven-inch Nexus tablet is the easiest to repair among these tablets with a nice seven out of ten score. More tidbits and teardown analysis right below...

Cook on iPad mini canibalization, Microsoft’s Surface and Apple’s position on tweener tablets

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 26, 2012

Apple CEO Tim Cook during yesterday's conference call with Wall Street analysts briefly touched on Microsoft's Surface tablet, which hit store shelves today, canibalization of its own products by the iPad mini and more. He also addressed his predecessor's public dissing of smaller tablets two years ago, insisting that Apple's position on the matter remains unchanged and stressing that the iPad mini, which has a 7.9-inch display, is "in a whole different league" than other seven inchers. Apple in fact, he said, "would never make" a seven-inch iPad...

Microsoft’s Surface is here, high-tech ad proclaims

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 25, 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Yp49rApQt8

Look what just surfaced on Microsoft Surface team's YouTube channel. This television commercial could be equally confusing to those who deemed the previous Movement ad too childish to begin with and perhaps over-the-top. One thing is certain: Microsoft is determined to make as much noise as possible about this tablet. The company today officially launched Windows 8 and will begin selling the Surface on Friday.

Apple the same day is scheduled to put its iPad mini on sale across 34 countries worldwide. Armchair estimates peg advertising expenditure for Windows 8 and Surface launches anywhere in the ballpark of $1-$2 billion. I've also included a new making-of video for the Movement ad right below...

Microsoft films its own Surface RT drop test

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 19, 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDD6DVc0Mb8

For today's WTF moment, I present you this publicity stunt depicting the Surface RT falling from about 30 inches high and onto a hardwood floor, courtesy of Microsoft's Surface Reliability Lab and straight via the Surface team's official channel on YouTube. Unlike your ordinary drop test, this one has a twist to it, just watch. Spoiler: it survives the drop. Fortunately, Microsoft didn't go as far to credit the gizmo's vapor-deposited magnesium chassis for that.

Of course the clip is geeky - this is Microsoft, after all. The company is many things, but you can't blame them from exploiting social media on a Friday to spread the word about their iPad contender. The Surface RT runs an ARM-based chip, it looks snappy, and its tile-based interface introduces a fresh new approach to tablet computing. I've also included another video that shows off some of the features, right past the fold...

Expert laughs off Microsoft’s pre-emptive claim of Surface beating iPad 3 on screen sharpness

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 18, 2012

A Microsoft engineer in a Reddit thread made a bold claim that a 1,366-by-768 pixel resolution display on the Surface tablet is way sharper than the 2,048-by-1,536 pixel resolution Retina display on the iPad 3. The comment left some scratching their head, wondering if Microsoft found a way to bypass the laws of physics.

President of DisplayMate Technologies Raymond Soneira is an expert at these things: he previously dispelled Heatgate, recently rated the iPhone 5 as having the best display in a smartphone and now is back with a brief shootout concerning the Surface's ClearType sub-pixel rendering allegedly improving display clarity beyond what Apple's device offers...

Microsoft’s Surface OS is a resource hog

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 18, 2012

We've been covering Microsoft's Surface and other competing tablets quite extensively here at iDB because we believe Apple is not an isolated isle and it pays to keeping tabs on what your competition is doing. Now, a 32GB Surface RT matches a 16GB iPad 3 in terms of price, both costing $499. That said, Surface RT users will wind up having less storage space available because the operating system and bundled apps require a significant amount of storage. It almost comes close to installing a Windows on a PC...

Microsoft: Surface screen outperforms the iPad Retina display

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

Microsoft is nothing if not an expert when it comes to spinning technology. Take for instance the software giant's latest comments that its Surface tablet actually outperforms the iPad's Retina display. You remember the Retina, the display with 3.9 million pixels and described by some as the best display ever for a mobile device?

Well, turns out the Surface's 1,366-by-768 display is even better at something called "perceived resolution." Microsoft engineer Steve Bathiche told a Reddit audience this week that the tablet's ClearType technology can reduce the glare from reflected light. The Surface's display reflects between 5.5 percent and 6.2 percent of light, compared to 9.9 for the iPad, according to the engineer...

How the Surface was engineered

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 16, 2012

Following up on today's Surface price list, pre-orders and a pretty nice commercial, Microsoft has also posted another interesting thingie which I think highlights how the engineering team went about designing Microsoft's iPad contender. Make no mistake about it: with the Surface, the Windows maker has raised the water line on its platform’s functionality. This tablet's here to stay. It is at any rate refreshing to have a fresh approach to the tablet other than the boring iOS-Android duopoly. Microsoft also has a few other promo clips for the Surface, all included past the fold...

Microsoft begins taking pre-orders for the Surface RT tablet, shipping October 26

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 27, 2017

A page briefly went online earlier this morning over at Microsoft's online store, revealing possible prices for ARM-based Surface RT models. It wasn't just a glitch in the system: Microsoft has officially announced it will begin taking pre-orders for the device later today at 12pm Eastern, 9pm Pacific. $499 buys you an entry-level Surface RT with 32 gigabytes of storage and a 10.6-inch display, but no Touch Cover - that's an additional $119.

The Surface RT is initially available for pre-order in eight countries via Microsoft's online store and is set to ship next Friday, October 26, alongside Windows 8 and three days after Apple's rumored iPad mini keynote...