How the Surface tablet compares with rival slates

• The Surface has landed on a surface that is crowded with slates from various device manufacturers
• The design and software capabilities point to a well- baked product
• Microsoft’s Surface Tablet is a strong contender in the slate race

The Surface Tablet computer is Microsoft’s first ever own slate. It was released in global markets recently, thus giving users an alternative to what already exists from competitors like Apple and Samsung.

The gadget has landed on a surface that is crowded with slates from various device manufacturers. After spending some time with the device and the other rival tablets, let us see how they compare.

The first impression from Surface Tablet reveals Microsoft’s approach to this field of mobile computing.

The design and software capabilities point to a well- baked product. The gadget runs on Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system. The hardware is robust and styled to suite a wide taste of user experience.

With the aid of the physical key-pad dock accessory, you will be able to use it just like a lap-top.

Considering the creative approach to aspects of user experience, I found the Galaxy Note Tab also quite impressive. The Samsung product comes with a powerful Android OS and re-defined user experience.

It has a stylus whereby you can jot notes right on the screen of the slate and save them for any other purpose. The Android software makes the Galaxy Note Tab shine with intuitive user experience and ability of enticing substantial numbers of individuals.

Other than the stylus, the Galaxy Note Tab has features like the split screen menu and outstanding multi-tasking capabilities.

As one of Android’s most advanced tablets, the Samsung Galaxy Note Tab is well designed for multi-tasking, gaming, social networking, video-calling and also office work.

Its performance is good and the gadget is lower priced compared to the iPad in the Kenyan market. The ease and joy of using the Galaxy Note Tab gives it an edge over the Surface Tablet.

Microsoft’s Surface Tablet requires users to get acquainted to a new operating system — Windows 8 OS — before they enjoy the marvels of its Metro-style UI and other admirable features.

There are gestures and charms that will be essential for navigating on the screen. This might be quite a different story when you use an iPad.

Enormous sales

Perhaps what Apple strived utmost to achieve with their product was the simplicity of use. The iPad exudes simplicity and feel exquisite in the hands of users.

The retina display makes everything on the iPad look crispier and rich in details for excellent viewing. The first iPad was launched in March 2010. Apple has since then sold over 50 million units.

Such enormous sales figures for the iPad reflect Apple’s dominance in the tablet industry. Generally, the tablet PCs overall sales are expected to rise in future with Apple dominating the market according to US research firm Gartner.

The flagship tablet from Microsoft has features that rival the iPad and other existing tablet PCs. The Surface has a 10.6 inch wide HD display screen which is bigger than that of the iPad and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 as well.

Microsoft has designed the screen with a 16:9 ratio compared to the screen ratio of 4:3 of the iPad. The Surface uses clear type HD display technology.