Microsoft to take on the Apple tablet?

With the hype around Apple's near-certain upcoming tablet PC seemingly cooling off, our attention now turns to Microsoft--as the company is rumored to be preemptively working on its own Apple-tablet killer.

ZDNet's Mary-Jo Foley reports that Microsoft plans to create a tablet, which is based in part on the technology behind the company's Surface project and has been developed under code names including "Oahu" and "Alchemy Ventures." In charge of the project--Chief Experience Officer J Allard, who was the main guy behind the Xbox brand for several years.

But don't look for it any time soon. Mary-Jo says she "wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft is waiting for Apple to show its Tablet hand before trotting out its revamped Tablet."

A key difference between a Microsoft tablet and an Apple one would be that Microsoft would design the basic spec, and let hardware partners build the actual devices--allowing MS to sit back and enjoy revenue from Zune-like subscription services, rather than be in the hardware-manufacturing business (and judging from the Xbox 360's high failure rate, that might not be the worst idea).

[the_mrwhite]

That would be great if Apple HAD a tablet on the market :| Lame story, put Apple or iPhone in the headline to get clicks = lame.

[pepperpup]

But...you clicked?

[scrubbingbubbles]

An Apple tablet killer like the Zune was an iPod killer i am guessing?
How about we all just let said tablets be even revealed before talking about one of them getting murdered hmm?

[Rod Roddy]

That "iPod killer" term is thrown around a lot these days, iPod will kill itself if they continue with lame @ss product refreshes--MS has nothing to do with that.

[Renegade Knight]

Zune HD is an iPod killer. People may or may not buy it, but it beats the iPods hands done for music.

[Gimpymw]

...it beats the iPods hands done for music.

I assume you're talking about the subscriptions service. I don't understand that argument and why anyone would want do dole out extra money every month above and beyond their monthly internet and or mobile charge. Anyway if that's your flavor then Rhapsody and Spotify (if you live in Europe) is available for the iPhone/iPod Touch.

If people don't buy then it ain't a Killer device. When the Zune HD , or any other device for that matter, begins to cut into the 70%+ market share of the iPod then I'll sit there with you chanting that the Zune is an iPod Killer.

[Rod Roddy]

@ Gimpymw, True that the iPod has the lions share of the MP3 player market, but what about iPhone? I'm sure Apple isn't focusing on music as others are (Zune HD) no, their newest venture "apps" is where they want to be. That's why this last Apple event was soooo lame. Need more convincing:

http://gigaom.com/2009/08/04/despite-iphones-success-blackberry-curve-was-on-top-in-q2/

Apple did innovate with the iPhone/iPod but lately they HAVE stagnated and everyone is catching up...quick.

[abundantsnotbob]

@Gimpymw
He could have been talking about the far superior sound quality of the Zune. The Zune has the best sound quality of any mp3 player I've heard, (I know I haven't heard them all) When I want to listen to music, I pick up my first gen Zune, and not my second gen iPod touch. If you are using them for music, Zune wins by far. As of now the iPod wins at apps, cause Zune only has like 9 or something last time I checked. If Zune makes an app store, they would win at games, cause of the tegra processor. And the HD radio beats not having even a radio. For video the HD wins, because it has HD output, and also an OLED screen. And there is a misconception about the Zune marketplace too. You do not have to subscribe, you can buy songs for $0.79 each.

[jabberwolf]

Is it just me.. or is Apple fan-boyism turned into down right dementia?!

MS has had tablets, or 3rd party hardware makers have provided many versions.
The only thing MS might be doing is trying out a new game/media tablet.
Apple is Wwwwwaaaay behind the curve in this arena.

[drbohner]

I've been using MS-Based tablets for years - and they work perfectly fine.

Game Tablet - bad idea
Media Table - isn't that what the Zune is, in a small version?

-(db)

[rlcato]

'Apple is Wwwwwaaaay behind the curve in this arena.'
I distinctly heard this once before about something Apple made... what was it... hummm... wait a minute... I think it was... ...a phone! Yeah, that's right, a smart phone! It was called. . . . the iPhone.

It's just you.

[anilsudh]

Yeah just like they were way behind the curve with smartphones!! Apple has shown time and again that it can re-invent the market.

[trout4u]

Dude, you've got to be kidding me. If Apple WANTED to be in there, they would. Havent you microslow people ever learned that Apple does what it wants to do? Not what people want them to do?

...Might want to give it some thought and wonder why we Apple "FANBOYS" will not go away...ever.

[putkowski]

There's one huge impediment to MS's entry in the tablet area: Windows.

If it runs Maemo, it might be tolerable.

[solitare_pax]

Excuse me - but aren't there tablet and touch screen PCs out on the market already?

I mean, WACOM has only been around since what - 1983?

[Dan_Ackerman]

Yes, but this would be a MS-branded product (even if they didn't actually make it), similar to the Zune or Xbox.

[Scott Gardener]

But, but, but... Microsoft has been pushing tablet PCs for years! Am I the only one who knows about them!?! If I had a web cam, I'd show you the Fujitsu Lifebook sitting next to me right now! They're real, I tell you! Why is it tablet PCs are treated like some paranormal phenomenon? Is it because all the tablet PCs are getting sequestered by the U.S. government for the ultra-secret Stargate program, shipping them off to some other galaxy? (Kidding aside, fans of Stargate: Atlantis might have noticed frequent use of tablet PCs on the show.) I suspect that Apple will come out with something, and suddenly they might as well have invented tablet computing. (Well, they kind of did, with the Newton.) Microsoft has spent most of the decade trying to get the format to catch on, but so far, it remains a niche market. Maybe the Apple logo will get graphic artists on board. And, maybe a touch screen rather than an easy-to-lose digitizer pen will get more people interested.

[Gimpymw]

No. I don't think its that you're the only one that knows about them. It's that most Tablets out there are over-priced *****.

@Gimpymw - and Apple is going to offer a low cost alternative? and I guess they will allow Adobe Flash to run on it too?

[linux2268]

We had some tablet PCs in the school I work at ,they had a touch screens with a special pen ,they were horrible things and were running XP tablet edition,they were so much trouble that no one would use them, complete rubbish.

[rjpotts]

Yeah, and Mary-Jo is just the most reliable new source, never get's anything wrong, always knows what she is talking about, blah, blah, blah.

I think you will see an Apple "eBook" device in the form of a tablet or slate before you see Apple putting their weight behind something equivalent to the Tablet PC. Apple has been successfully changing its image from a computer manufacturer to a consumer electronics company for quite some time now. The iPod came out after multiple companies had developed MP3 players, Apple studied the design, the issues and developed a product people wanted. The "smart" phone had been out for a while. Apple studied the design, the issues and developed a product people wanted. They are doing the same thing with the small form factor video recorder, ergo the new video recorder disguised as an iPod. The eBook reader has been around for awhile, Apple has been studying the design, the issues, and is developing a product people want.

[akira2501]

yup. So true it hurts. The good thing is that tablets have been around forever, so they will have a lot of material to draw from. I personally am looking forward to it, though the way apple is I might not buy one till g2 or 3.

[dazweeja]

I think the term 'Tablet PC' in this story is misleading and has lead to a lot of these off-topic comments. It is my understanding that the device that Apple is developing is not really a PC - ie. no optical drives, limited ports if any (apart from headphones and dock connector) - but really an oversized iPod Touch, sort of a cross between the Touch and the Kindle, with it's focus being on permanent wireless/3G connectivity. That is very different to a WACOM tablet of Fujitsu Lifebook or anything else mentioned in these comments.

[techmagick]

Nobody seems to be excited about a tablet based around SURFACE! This is some very cool technology. I would like to see a bit of SURFACE added to MS's cell phone OS. a browser using SURFACE technology would make Apple and the rest of the world take a nice long look at MS. I imagin though that we will need to have more powerfull processors in our cells in order to do that.

What ever. A tablet PC from MS based on SURFACE is a very exciting prospect.

[Renegade Knight]

If they make it. If they wait for Apple they will lose yet more market share.

[jakemochas]

The Zune HD seems like it has some surface interface in it, so does windows 7, but yeah maybe TEGRA has the ability to run MS surface! Finally an affordable way to get a surface!

[5old13r]

No,no. Surface uses IR cameras and projectors for touch interaction. Zune simply has a touch screen. But then again, Apple hasn't invented a new product since the apple 1, ipod classic, and the firewire cable (which no one uses anymore). I challenge anyone to name a new product by apple since then. Just one. Please.

This is not the Apple tablet that you are looking for. Going out on a (short) limb here and making some realistic guesses as to what the Great Tablet will (or won?t) have: http://bit.ly/10TD6X (non-commercial blog, no ads)

[celticbrewer]

Who cares who makes it? I'm still wondering why you'd buy it!

At this point, Laptops are so thin and light and you're going to need something to keep that exposed tablet screen from getting smashed while carrying it around. Why not just get a laptop? Esentially a tablet with a keyboard doubling as a protective case.

I can see it used in warehouses and specific industries, but for the consumer? Get real. Just beause they make it doesn't mean you have to buy it (unless you're an apple fanboy, then of course you have to do what they tell you, or you won't be cool anymore to your fellow apple "individualists")

[littleM]

I overheard a very reliable rumor about a story that Apple was coming out next year with an iBag for women. Instead of leather or silk, the iBag is made of a flexible touch screen that changes to look like anything from mink to gold. The iBag will match whatever they are wearing and be fully programmable to look like anything from a newborn baby to an Uzi. Microsoft knows about this and is planning to introduce the Winbag, a quad core, 16GB bag with 20 terabytes of SSD that can carry 'virtually' anything you own. It weighs 20 pounds. "Which is less than the original Compaq portable," according to a Microsoft rumorperson.

[molotov]

Confirmed, confirmed. This project is being worked on with LeSac, the French bag company.

[molotov]

The far superiority of the Zune outpaces the lagging Touch, so get in touch - Thanks so much

[hln98]

Like Apple, Microsoft is creating a new tablet. But unlike Apple, nobody gives a crapp. Whatever Apple puts out (with the exception of the AppleTV) people are going to get in line to buy it.

Apple = Republican
Microsoft = Evilcrat

[Renegade Knight]

Your demographic is backward.

Apple= LEMMING

[NervClaX]

Sooooo Microsoft "Surface" doesn't count in the tablet space? They don't put that kind of time and effort into a demo for the sake of showing off. All this MS Surface business has obviously been a build-up to a breakout in touchscreen and tablet PCs.

It's similar to their approach in the mobile space. MS is content to have Windows Mobile on smartphones and they'll be very happy to supply Surface to tablet PC makers competing with Apple. It's a lot easier and potentially more profitable than doing BOTH hardware and software.

[jakemochas]

it seems like MS is integrating in a bunch of the technologies they create... its a good idea and it seems like the different teams are working with one another (ie. surface, windows, xbox, zune)

[Renegade Knight]

This would be a good move. Supposedy Windoze 7 has the support built in for a tablet. Surface tech wouldn't hurt. All that's ever come of that are some demo's and special effeicts for TV shows who need fancy looking computers.

They shouldn't wait for Apple. They should get the lead out now and lead.

[douggdangger]

Microsoft has been working with PC manufacturers on tablets for years.

Now Apple is barely getting their feet wet... and all of a sudden they "invented" it?

LOL! I don't know who the bigger moron is, Apple or the fools who buy into their bs.

[douggdangger]

iphones are junk, blackberries all the way.

Took Apple over 2 years to get "copy & paste" going. How long will it take them to get mms?

I know, the upcoming iphone WITH mms will "invent" mms.
The upcoming iphone that will have replaceable batteries, will "invent" replaceable batteries.

Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!

There's only one field where Apple succeeds and that is marketting CURRENT EXISTING technologies and fooling idiots into thinking that it's "GROUND BREAKING DISCOVERY".

[Jose_Carvajal]

first off, i just made an account today after visiting this site for almost a year.

anyways, your iphones are junk and bb all the way. that is hilarious(in a positive sense)
i had an iphone for 8 days tried it, didnt care for it was bored ...so returned it. had a bb bold and returned it after three cuz it froze once on me and i wanted to at least try the iphone ...regret that decision i plan on getting the new bb handset in november..:D
so yeah. i leave a comment on yours because the whole copy paste and mms, i totally agree with you, its just too funny how some SOME not all..iphone users are so excited over such a simple feature that has been around for a while, and the replaceable batteries is hilarious.
"whats this, 4G iphone now has removable battery!! " come and get it lol.
it would be kinda nice if they offered some different colors though :/ but whatever ...

[Neumenon]

Still not buying an Apple Product.