The tablet universe continues to grow with the upcoming Surface by Microsoft and the new iPad with Retina Display (iPad 4), which was launched today in retailers.
Undecided on which tablet to purchase, especially as the Holiday shopping season is set to begin?
The Microsoft Surface is very different to the iPad 4, but you'll decide which company has the upper hand.
Body:
The Surface's frame features a length of 274.6mm, width of 172mm, and a depth of 9.4mm. The iPad 4 has the same depth measurement but the length stands at 241.2mm and a width of 185.7mm.
The iPad 4 also weighs less with 652grams (g) to the Surface's 680.4 g.
Display:
The screen size for the Surface is bigger, at 10.6-inches compared to the latest Apple tablet's 9.7-inches.
The pixel resolution of the Surface's screen is 1,366z768 with up to 148 pixels per image (ppi). The pixel resolution for the iPad 4 is 2,048x1,536 with 264 ppi.
Memory:
The iPad 4 offers internal storage options of 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB while the Surface only offers 32GB and 64 GB.
While the iPad 4 does not offer a card slot, the Surface accepts a microSD card for up to 64GB.
Wireless Connectivity:
The two tablets offer Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n and Bluetooth version 4.0 with A2DP. The Surface is also available on Wi-Fi Direct.
Camera:
The cameras are very different. The Surface and iPad 4 offers rear-and-front-facing cameras. However, the cameras on the Surface are 1.2-meapixels. The front-facing camera of the iPad 2 is also 1.2-megapixels but the rear-facing camera offers five-megapixels with 2,592x1,944 pixels.
Videos for the two Surface cameras are at 720p, while the front-facing camera of the iPad 4 is also 720p, the rear-facing camera records at 1080p.
Operating System:
The Surface features the Microsoft Windows RT operating system (OS), a version of Windows 8. The iPad 4 features the iOS 6, however the latest update iOS 6.0.1 is now available but likely not installed in the Apple tablet.
Chipset/Processor:
The iPad 4 uses the new A6X chip, which runs twice as fast compared to its predecessor A5X, according to Apple. The Surface uses the Nvidia Tegra 3 T30, a quad-core processor that aims to deliver "unprecedented performance in a wide range of mobile devices," according to Nvidia.
Battery Time:
The fourth generation of the iPad uses 11,560mAh, and can withstand standby time of 720 hours to 10 hours talk time. The Surface uses 31.5 Wh and standby time stands up to 360 hours to eight hours for talk time.
Colors:
The iPad 4 offers black and white options while the Surface is available in "Dark Titanium."
For comparisons on the iPad Mini vs. iPad 2, click here.
For comparisons on the iPad 4 vs. iPad 3, click here.
For comparisons on the iPad Mini vs. iPad 4, click here.
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