128GB iPad 4 vs. Microsoft Surface Pro Windows 8: If You Want Any Hard Drive Space, Go With Apple

Yesterday, Apple confirmed rumors going around (and fought back the nay-sayers) by announcing that it was going to be offering a 128GB version of the iPad 4. The release date will be February 5 and it will cost $799.

Which is to say, Apple almost looks like it's going out of its way to crush Windows Surface Pro, which comes out on February 9 and will cost $999 for their 128GB tablet. With recent criticisms of the Surface Pro line's Windows 8 operating system hogging up to 64 percent of the storage drives, Apple will soon be offering iPad 4 variants to match both Surface Pro models at about $200 less and with more actual storage available.

The new Microsoft Windows 8 tablet features a high definition 10.6-inch screen at 1920x1080p resolution, an Intel Core i5 processor with 4GB RAM, a full-sized USB 3.0 port, and 720p front and back-facing cameras. It has the nifty kick stand built in, as well as the keyboard cover/flap, which doesn't actually come with the tablet, adding additional cost to the bill.

But the big story with the Microsoft Surface Pro with Windows 8 is that the "Windows 8" part of the equation hogs the storage space of the tablet. In the 64GB variant, the space-hogging system can leave you with only 23GB of storage left out of the box. And with the 128GB Microsoft Surface Pro, you at least get more than 50 percent of your drive to actually use, but even for that variant, it only comes out to 83GB of storage.

Compare that developing debacle of a tablet release to Apple's iPad 4 offerings. The iPad 4 has a slightly smaller 9.7-inch display, but makes up for it by having Retina, Apple's super high resolution technology: It comes in at an Avatar-worthy 2048x1536p resolution. The iPad 4 also runs Apple's specially-made A6X processor, which shares system and graphics tasks within a single efficient chip, and has a 720p front-facing camera and 1080p HD video recording capability. It doesn't come with a keyboard, but costs about $200 less per tier than Microsoft's tablets.

And Apple's iOS 6.1 won't hog all the space on the tablet. Even on the 16GB iPad, Apple leaves around 14GB to work with, and you can bet the 128GB version won't leave you cramped with 83GB only left.