The tablet market is getting tighter with the introduction of the Microsoft Surface, but will it be enough to capture new customers?
The main competitor for Microsoft will be Apple's iPad series, but there is the "phablet" from Samsung. The "phablet" has been a term coined for Samsung's Galaxy Note 2 for being to big to be a phone yet to small to be a standard tablet.
Obviously, the Surface does not offer phone-calling capabilities, so how else does it fare and differ against the other tablet features of the Note 2?
Size:
The Galaxy Note 2 has a length of 5.95-inches, 3.17-inches for the width, and a depth of 0.37-inches. The Surface is nearly double the size with 10.81-inches for the length, width of 6.77-inches, and yet the same depth of 0.37-inches.
Weight:
The Surface weighs 680.4 grams (g) to the Galaxy Note 2's 183g.
Display:
The Note 2 has a screen size of 5.5-inches with Super AMOLED display. The pixel resolution stands at 1,280x720 with 267 pixels per image (ppi). The Surface has a 10.6-inch screen with ClearType technology. The pixel resolution stands at 1,366x768 with 148 ppi.
Memory:
The memory might be in favor of the Note 2. The Surface offers 32GB and 64GB for the internal storage with 2GB of RAM. A microSD card slot is available for up to 64GB. The Note 2 offers the same as the Surface except a 16GB model is also available, giving customers an additional option.
Wireless Connectivity:
The Surface and Galaxy Note 2's wireless connectivity includes Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth version 4.0, and USB availability. The Galaxy Note 2 offers Wi-Fi hotspot as well.
Camera:
The front-facing camera of the Galaxy Note 2 utilizes 1.9-megapixels compared to the Surface's 1.2-megapixels.
The rear-facing camera for the Galaxy Note 2 stands at eight-megapixels with 3,264x2,448 pixels while the Surface maintains the same megapixels as the front-facing camera - 1.2-MP.
Operating System:
The Galaxy Note 2 operates with the latest Android operating system (OS), the Android version 4.1.1, also known as the Jelly Bean. The Surface uses a variation of the latest Windows 8 OS, the Windows RT.
Chipset:
The Surface utilizes the Nvidia Tegra 3 T30 as its chipset while the Galaxy Note 2 uses the Exynos 4412 Quad.
Colors:
The Galaxy Note 2 is available in gray and white, while the Surface is offered in what's known as Dark Titanium.
Another difference between the two devices is the wireless keyboard that is detachable from the Surface while the Galaxy Note 2 utilizes the S Pen Stylus.
For the iPad Mini vs. Microsoft Surface, click here.