Surface vs. iPad 4: Critics' Reviews vs. Consumers' Opinion: Whose Tablet Judgment is Best?

Tablets are expected to be the top retail seller for the holidays, according to the Wall Street Journal.

This has pitted both of the hottest selling tablets--the iPad 4 and Microsoft Surface--against each other in the holiday retail wars.

The question "Which is Better?" is a topic that evokes passion and debate from techies across the board.

David Court of PC Advisor compared the two head to head this month and wrote the following:

On their Processors:

"The only real way we can compare the two is in terms of what each was like to use on a day-to-day basis. From this we would have to conclude that the iPad 4's processor seemed to be the better of the two as the overall experience what slicker. That's not to say that the Surface was a jumpy slow coach, far from it, we were actually impressed with the Surface's performance; animations are smooth and the more demanding tasks like pinch zooming in Internet Explorer and Bing Maps are extremely responsive. However, we did notice a delay here and there, especially when opening some apps. Something that we did not find with the iPad 4."

On Software:

"There are a few big name apps like Netflix and Microsoft's own like Skype and Xbox SmartGlass. However, there's a lack of the apps most iPad and Android tablet owners use every day including Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, Google Maps, Dropbox, Spotify, BBC iPlayer, IMDb, ESPN Goals and Sky Go. Games not available include Bad Piggies, Words With Friends, World Of Goo and the lists go on."

On Connectivity:

"In our opinion the Surface's physical connections is one of its best qualities. It offers full-size USB connectivity, a microSD card slot and a HD video out port. That's three key ports that the iPad 4 doesn't offer."

Anand Lal Shimpi of Anandtech.com seemed to like the Surface overall, calling the tablet "incredibly well-executed" and "the most flexible tablet I've ever used."

"The Windows RT experience, in many senses, is clearly ahead of what many competitors offer in the tablet space today. Multitasking, task switching and the ability to have multiple applications active on the screen at once are all big advantages that Microsoft enjoys. For productivity workloads, Surface is without equal in the tablet space," Lal Shimpi says.

Engadget's Tim Stevens calls the Surface, "a slate upon which you can get some serious work done.'

David Pogue of the New York Times called the Surface, "a brilliantly conceived machine whose hardware will take your breath away - but whose software will take away your patience.

Gizmodo's Sam Biddle called the Surface promising, but listed a slew of operational and other flaws and recommended that consumers pass on the new tablet. "It's a tablet-plus, priced right alongside the iPad and in most ways inferior," Biddle writes.

Regarding what the consumers are saying, both Tablets have their fans and detractors.

One user on the New York Times wrote, "As an Apple fan I hate to admit that this thing is gorgeous. How hard would it be though to have a solid tablet that runs office but can also hang with me on the couch all weekend. With a few solid common Apps this could be the world beater Microsoft needs right now.

"With MS doing something innovative and high end (for a tablet) we have healthy competition between Apple, MS, and Google with hardware and OSs for every possible niche. Its the good old days of computing again," another user writes.

Henrique Dourado wrote on Engadget, "Surface with Windows RT is going to crash and burn. People are going to buy it with the assumption that it will work with legacy software and hardware. It won't, they'll return it end of story. MS has really hit a wall in what they can do because they always try to please everyone with legacy compatibility. Then when something like RT comes along which completely breaks with legacy people think 'that's the only reason I buy windows stuff...'

However, another Engadget user named witzjd had a different outlook. "I received my tablet on the 26th and I feel in love with the Surface on my airplane ride on the 28th for my cruise. Everything missing in my iPad & Galaxy Tab was covered in this tablet and more. I'm so immersed in Apples ecosystem that the iPad will stay my primary but this definitely is a great competitor and beats Android by far. Sweet device!"