Surface, a worthy competitor to iPad?

BANGALORE, INDIA: Tablet computers will eventually outsell part of traditional computers because of their simplicity- Tim Cook

Microsoft has finally ventured into the tablet market with the launch of its own tablet Surface.

Expected to be priced $650, Surface seems to be well prepared to challenge Apple's iPad, which dramatically changed part of the traditional computer sales. Especially, the notebooks and mobile devices.

IDC predicts the iPad will account for upto 62.5 pc of the shipments this year up from 58.2 pc last year.

IDC predicts a $78.7 billion revenue from tablet sales this year and $222 billion by 2016. Steve Jobs, the legendary and late visionary of Apple who always proclaimed that the story is in creating the entire widget or device as one package for the user, has made Apple the strongest player in this space.

Zune, the attempted media player which Microsoft wanted to compete with iPod, did not really take off in the market. However, Microsoft has sold 67 million Xbox, making it one of the leading gaming devices today. So, Microsoft has an advantage there in the gaming devices and that market.

Tablet devices is another story. Will Microsoft's device beat Apple in price? Actually, sub-$499 price could be a great value for money. The features, which the iPad users term nothing less than awesome, are another tough ones for challengers. Last but not the least, usability and design are both killers.

Remember that most of the iPads are shipping without the Office Suite of Microsoft and are now used to working without it. The apps advantage that Apple has created is yet another wall that Microsoft has to scale.

Now, if anyone can challenge Apple it is Microsoft. After all we all remember the GUI created by Apple for its Mac's. Microsoft brought the UI through its Windows platform and was there on every PC and changed its fortune, and had unparallel penetration into the world of computing. This time around it's not just the software but the entire device.

Now, is it another, possible, showtime?

(Anil Kumar Ravindran is Senior Vice President of CyberMedia India Ltd)