“A brand new Windows 8 ad pits the iPad against Microsoft’s Windows 8 tablet, in an attempt to show how much more versatile the Asus VivoTab is vs. the iOS device,” Darrell Etherington writes for TechCrunch.
“Microsoft uses Siri’s voice (which isn’t difficult, given that it’s a fairly generic computer-generated female tone) to highlight what the Windows 8 tablet can do that the iPad can’t,” Etherington writes. “The problem is that not only is the Siri construct weak and her actual lines poorly written, but the abilities Microsoft chooses to highlight show exactly why it doesn’t ‘get’ the tablet market. People aren’t looking for multitasking PowerPoint slide deck-creating machines; they have computers for that.”
Etherington writes, “The closing bit here is maybe the worst part; showing that Apple’s iPad can easily provide a remarkably realistic experience for playing Chopsticks on the screen is not the way to trash your competition, especially if you noticeably can’t offer up an equivalent experience on your own hardware.”
Read more in the full article here.
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As usual Microsoft tripping all over themselves in a desperate bid to play “pretend cool.” Oh how the market share worm has turned.
Just take a look at the latest results from HP and Dell to see the impact of Windows 8. Grasping at straws seems an appropriate cliche. Even a company the size of Budweiser is dumping windows for iPad for their sales force.
Open your eyes…
the last frames compare pricing.
iPad 699 vs Surface 449
http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msca/en_CA/pdp/productID.277808900
actually:
the Winblows Tablet – Surface RT 64 Gb is $599.00 Cnd
the iPad 4 with retina display 64Gb wifi only is $699.00 Cnd
easy come – easy go – little high – little low…
the entry level Apple iPad mini 16 Gb is $329.00 Cnd
doesn’t really matter to me…
momma, Apple just killed a MacroSloth…
haha, doesn’t really matter if Windows blows
to me too !
That isn’t a Surface. It’s an ASUS VivoTab. Microsoft doesn’t dare compare their own hardware to an iPad, not just because it fails on price, but because it fails in every other way too.
Here is “Microsoft cool:”
Love that song! Better than the original.
Is that Donny Osmond in that video? I never noticed that before, Toooo funny!!!!
I miss the clicking and the dancing.
For the next ad, MS should make it a River Dance Extravaganza with Ballmer front and center!
Uh… front and center would need to be quartet of emergency medical technicians were Ballmer to engage in River Dancing!
I actually think that commercial is freakin’ ballsy from MS…incredibly stupid, but ballsy.
Yah, considering that PowerPoint not being on the iPad is Microsoft’s own decision, not Apple’s.
I think Powerpoint is a bit last century. Most people are using a video of some sort.
Have you ever sat in a meeting lately where they are using PowerPoints. Argh!!! Just shoot me now!
Power Point is for people who don’t know what it is they are talking about.
I’d rather create a better Keynote presentation than a PowerPoint anyway.
I think it is a fair criticism of the iPad that there is no scheme to layout multiple apps all operating at once on a single screen. I think having the secondary app devolve to iPhone UI size and enabling cut and paste between them would be very handy in some limited cases. But not until the iPad is like 20″ and sits on the desk all day doing nothing but iWork.
Actually, I will shock you, the iPad is remarkably good at running multiple apps AND doing presentation layouts. You simply turn on 4 finger app switching and “flick” between apps (similar to multiple desktop switching on a desktop machine) and there are several extremely strong drawing/paint/graphics/layout apps. Actually it’s kind of remarkable just how good it is at that sort of thing.
That is the biggest problem with this ad. It is absolutely BS, the only group this would work on is those who would buy a win powered tablet without even looking at an iPad (unlikely at this point given their respective market positions)
MS is still marketing like it was 1999 when they 90% market share and are the “de facto” standard. The only individuals this ad would “work” for are those who would have only considered the ms powered tablet, no matter how inferior it is to the iPad. At that point you are preaching to the choir and the attempt just becomes a waste of money (for MS).
You just hit on something extremely important !!!!
Sure the iOS is simple and easy to understand yet there are functions that the DroidFolk think iPad can not do.
Its just plain false. Youtube has tonnes of Droid demos expressing, things like iPad cant take screen captures. Its ridiculous.
iOS can do plenty – and it does it extremely well both on iPad and iPhone. The problem, however, is that many people out there (including iPad users) don’t seem to know about the deeper feature set of this wonderful device. And that needs to change.
Apple could do a better job at showing the benefits of the iOS with commercials or website demos. It could be handled in a similar fashion like PC vs Mac guys.
I agree with this 100%. There are a ton of shortcuts and hidden features that make iOS even more functional. The double space at the end of a sentence that creates a period is one example that I have shown to a lot of people. There are many others and I believe that Apple is not doing enough in the education area.
Wrong. iPad can and does run multiple apps at once, but Apple chooses not to have them on screen at the same time. I believe this is a specific decision to maximize battery life by not having multiple apps graphics being updated constantly.
The reality is people can’t really multitask anyway, and particularly not on a small screen. Now add a touchscreen interface, and we really can only do one thing at a time. Multitasking, particularly on a batter-powered mobile device, is a red herring.
Yes I know it runs them all at once. But there are several scenarios where two apps on screen can be useful especially if you have a larger screen than the iPad.
For example, at 20″-32″ diagonal you can compare two documents from different programs say looking at a full-color diagram and the text you wish to associate it with in a third document you are creating. Apple has accommodated some of this by allowing imports from the photos app.
It is somewhat problematic on the iPad because ideally I would want the image program open to choose the image copy it, and then use a four-finger gesture to move back to the last program I used in this case the text program.
Import and export should work for all programs if it can be done securely.
A little too black-and-white for me…
Shouldn’t they be comparing the 32GB version iPad to the 64GB WaRT?
As usual, MS didn’t get the concept of a tablet 😉
This is targeted to the CIO/IT that currently runs the majority of businesses in the Country and Planet. This ad is perfect for them and a shotgun to make a point that iPads are useless when the CEO or employees starts requesting iPads. You guys need to see it from these CIO/IT Drones of Microsoft point of view. This is the last stronghold for Microsoft and they will do just about anything to keep that LOCKED IN STRANGLEHOLD in the Business World. Keep that automatic revenue flowing by giving their Generals in the field ammo.
Memo to Microsoft: Advertising 101: Never mention your competition by name.
Unless you are so damn far behind the competition that your Asus VivoTab isn’t on anyones radar.
In that situation, there is no problem telling the target audience that your latest hail mary is kind of like an iPad.
A more flexible and seamless ‘door’ into other apps would be nice at times so you can simply drag where it is appropriate especially images or notes, instead of clicking between them or through menus. But don’t really need them to be completely open on the same screen virtually ever however. But can we have a ‘back’ button/swipe to take us to a previous screen state, twitter manages it if inconsistently at times and safari does it beautifully with a swipe on my new iMac.
Four fingered swipe does just that.
I love four finger swipe but sometimes you have to compare things in two different documents at once. I really don’t think there is enough room in 9.7 inches to do that effectively but it would be fun to try.
Old advertising rule:
#1 in the market never talks about #2. Microsoft is admitting they’re #2 by even mentioning another brand. (also why Apple almost never does direct comparison ads)
Yep, but why not? Is so damn obvious to the world.
Like that widescreen shape though.
Would like the iPad’s Safari to swipe like my MBPro – can’t think why it doesn’t – next update perhaps.
Thumbs down, fart noise…
Correct, Apple uses Keynote to play Power Point files because Microsoft’s software is not required to do that. And yes, Apple chose to use Push vs. run multiple apps to conserve battery power and add speed to the app you are using at the time. And yes, Apple’s iPad does not require the same amount of RAM to hold unnecessary spaghetti code of a Windows 8 OS that the tablet does not require.
These are the many things that are wrong with Microsoft’s concept of a tablet! Has Steve Ballmer considered what he will be doing after the Microsoft board cans his dancing monkey … Ok, that isn’t nice to say about special needs people or socially unacceptable (uncool) CEOs.
look i went to the windows store and looked at this thing a salesman actually picked it up and handed it to me as if lifting the thing would convince me of its value . what i did notice was it was thick and heavy there was even a goofy square ridge on the back that made it actually thicker in the middle the screen looked like the border made usable screen size actually very small. i would not give them ten bucks for the thing and judging by the numbers of customers in the store at the time nobody else will either. get ready for a lot of wasted mall rent for microsoft (bye bye retail stores) and i personally have never had a microsoft upgrade go smoothly i would not bring that subject up to users who have had days of calls to tech support to get stuff working after the typical “update “
Nothing like a tablet for which you need a back support belt to carry it.
I think that was a very good ad and very good targeted, If I was a complete ignorant and poor and low self esteem, I will definitively fall for that ad and buy a Windows tablet… even a android one because people who buys those things from microsoft are so dumb that they can easily confuse it with an android tablet.
Sent from my iPad 🙂
I couldn’t watch a movie and read emails simultaneously even if I had a W8 tablet that was technically capable of it.
That leaves Live Tiles, which I’m not sure anybody on planet Earth likes, and PowerPoint, which is horribly inferior to Keynote.
Yeah, this is a winner of an ad right here.
In the end, people will stick to the iPad. Apple is about what it’s products do, how people use them and how they enhance their lives. Simple and to the point. Microsoft has to struggle to get its message across. This is the free market at it finest. However, I very much love the Mircosoft Luima commercial “Wedding Fight”. It’s one of their best yet!!!
Poor Microsoft, they really don’t get it. Whoever approved this ad should be fired. Which means they probably got a promotion.
How is an incompetent rendition of Chopsticks supposed to make me want to turn in my iPad for a Windoze tablet?
It’s a rehash of the old “iPads are for consumption, not creation” meme, a bit of the old Blackberry PlayBook “Amateur hour is over” message, and a slap at ordinary users, making them look like dilettantes who waste valuable time playing around (not even getting the music right), in contrast to smart, engaged, style-aware young adults working as actuaries and accountants
I thought the most disingenuous comment in that ad was the part that said PowerPoint wasn’t available on an iPad … I wonder who controls whether a Microsoft product is ported to iOS? Is it Apple? Or Microsoft? Hmmm …
There are a few Windows 8 apps for playing the piano keyboard. Why didn’t they show any of those on the Win8 device? Because it wasn’t an Microsoft-originated app, while PowerPoint is. You would not want to actually “have fun” using Win8.
Win8 for business, what was I thinking?
No business I know uses Win8. There is a reason. Your fingers would wear out by the end of the day and the screen would be covered in oil stains. Oh, and “Push to Talk” doesn’t work well either.
Microsoft is in a bad position right now because both windoze 8 and the the tablets just plain suck. My friend just bought a new windows 8 tablet and I filled a round with it and the is is archaic at best. It is not cleaned and polished like Apple’s. I brought out my good old iPad 1st gen a compared it with him right there and he like my iPad better. He returned is tablet and bought an iPad and he is happier ever since.
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