You have to give Microsoft credit for trying. After it just released an iPad vs Windows 8 tablet running the full desktop version of the OS, it has now released another putting Windows RT up against iOS and the iPad. Just as it did in the original, it is not showing its own Surface RT tablet for a good reason.
Microsoft begins the commercial comparing the dimensions of the iPad 4 with the Asus VivoTab RT. The Asus VivoTab RT is thinner with .32 inches compared to the iPad's .37 inches. The Asus tablet weighs 1.16 lbs, while the iPad 4 weighs 1.44lbs. Microsoft is right that the plastic Asus VivoTab RT is thinner and lighter than the iPad, but it should be. It's made out of plastic compared to the iPad 4's aluminum case.
Microsoft then focuses on how the Windows RT tablet compares to the iPad when it comes to work. It highlights that the Microsoft OneNote app works on the iPad 4, while the Windows RT tablet comes with Microsoft Office. It forgets to mention that the version of Microsoft Office on Windows RT tablets leaves out one of the most used Microsoft Office applications consumers expect, Outlook. Microsoft is rumored to be bringing an iOS version of Microsoft Office to the iPad in the future, but for now iPad users can use Apple's iWork suite or many different office-type applications in the App Store.
We are then taken to the multitasking competition between the iPad and the Windows RT tablet. Windows RT easily beats iOS when it comes to running multiple apps. It's something Apple really needs to address and implement fast. The ad claims that the iPad needs a "special Apple printer" while the Windows RT tablet "works with virtually all printers." I don't have a "special Apple printer", I have an HP printer and have no problems printing from my iPad mini.
Microsoft is desperately trying to keep Windows RT alive, while many of its own licensees see the OS as a failure and have had to slash the price of their tablets, including the Asus VivoTab RT tablet that appears in this commercial. It's a nice try on Microsoft's part to try and keep Windows RT alive, but it's only going to confuse consumers more by having these commercials comparing two completely different Microsoft operating systems running on tablets against the iPad's iOS. Microsoft has just made two commercials that are going to lead consumers to believe they are the same product, when in actuality Windows 8 and Windows RT are two completely different operating systems and do not offer the same features.
