What can the Surface do that the iPad simply cannot?

pbankey

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I saw the other forum discussion about a similar topic (though not as broad) about something the Surface does that the iPad cannot. I'm curious, but.. what functionalities can the Surface do that the iPad can truly not do at all? I'm not talking about doing something better or worse, just simply not an option for the iPad by any means.

I know side-by-side app viewing is a nonexistent functionality, but are there answers the iPad has for other things, even if it isn't as efficient as the Surface?

Flash?

Network drive support?
 

FrodoBaggins

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iPad can not have multiple users, iPad cannot connect to network drives like you say, iPad does not connect to printers (only airplay printers, of which there are practically none), iPad does not run Non-iPad apps, whereas surface pro can run pretty much any application that runs on windows, iPad does not have a mouse, you're forced to use touch, iPad does not have a USB port, iPad is not compatible with lots of file types that Surface is, due to the fact that surface runs windows, iPad does not have an HDMI out (you need an adapter), need I go on?
 

FrodoBaggins

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iPad is COOL! Girls love iPad while old guys buy Surface tablets and brag.
Yucks!
:grin:

I'm sorry but how is that a logical conclusion to come to based on the evidence in the previous posts and what you have seen in the real world - have you seen any old guys buying surface tablets to brag, and have you seen any girls that express their love towards iPads

Bearing in mind that a lot of girls are iSheep so that statement may hold some weight, but still, last time i checked girls didn't judge guys on their tablet lol.

Please could you come up with some proof to backup your argument before coming on here and blurting out stuff
 

mase123987

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I'm sorry but how is that a logical conclusion to come to based on the evidence in the previous posts and what you have seen in the real world - have you seen any old guys buying surface tablets to brag, and have you seen any girls that express their love towards iPads

Bearing in mind that a lot of girls are iSheep so that statement may hold some weight, but still, last time i checked girls didn't judge guys on their tablet lol.

Girls do judge guys by whether they are 7" or 10" tablets.
 

Rising Mos

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- A file system (seriously, this is not mentioned enough at all).
- Integrate USB support.
- Integrated Kickstand.
- Microsoft Office.
- Run two apps side by side.

p.s. I think the main advantage of using the iPad is the app support. That being said, you have pretty much the main apps that you need but specific apps and games selections are much better in the iPad.
 

Patric.Z

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Extended monitor support. iPad has airplay, so it does support some sort of screen duplication, but it does not support desktop extension, with wire or wirelessly. With extended monitore, we can do so much more mutitasking.

Concurrent users. With extended monitor, connect with a wireless keyboard and mouse, we can have 2 people using the same tablet doing different things at a time.

Files system. This is very important when you eed to upload a file to a website. This is not possible with iPad.

Charge your phone/tablet/whatever can be charged by a USB.

Joining a homegroup.

Being unique.
 

WillysJeepMan

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I saw the other forum discussion about a similar topic (though not as broad) about something the Surface does that the iPad cannot. I'm curious, but.. what functionalities can the Surface do that the iPad can truly not do at all? I'm not talking about doing something better or worse, just simply not an option for the iPad by any means.

I know side-by-side app viewing is a nonexistent functionality, but are there answers the iPad has for other things, even if it isn't as efficient as the Surface?

Flash?

Network drive support?
When you say "the iPad truly not do at all" that doesn't make it any clearer.

Case in point:
The Surface: I can directly plug in a Blue Yeti USB microphone into the USB port and have it recognized and usable.
The iPad: I have to connect the Blue Yeti mic to a powered USB hub and connect the hub to the USB camera connection kit which in turn is connected to the iPad.

Would you consider that to be something that the iPad "truly not do at all"? Technically, it can't. It can't use the Yeti mic directly.
 

Christian Kallevig

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I agree, "can't do at all" is not the right thing to be asking for. Technically you can do many things on an iPad that it wasn't intended to do with various work-arounds. But the fact remains that Apple did not intend for you to do these things and out of the box it is impossible to do most of them.

For example, let's say I have a flash drive containing a backup of important files that I put on every new computer I own. As soon as I get my Surface booted and logged into my account I can plug that drive in and copy my files. With an iPad I would need to jailbreak it, get a USB adapter and a powered USB hub. In other words, while it can technically be done it requires extra hardware and hacking the OS.
 

Dewg

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It's not that the iPad cannot do everything - it's that the process is cumbersome for some things. The best way to describe it is: The iPad forces me to change the way I do business to fit it. The Surface tablet (Pro, and to some degree RT) lets me do business as I'm already used to doing.

An example: Whether a popular notion or not, Outlook is the defacto e-mail program for most business professionals. If I receive an e-mail with file attachments (2 PDF files and a Word document), I want to save those files to a folder structure (like My Documents) to keep them organized. Then I want to open the Word document and work on it. However, it's filled with red-line and track changes from a legal team. Works great in Word 2013. Later I compose a new e-mail and want to attach the revised Word doc and 1 of the PDF files. I simply hit the paperclip and browse to the files - attach them as I normally do on my work PC. Another team sends me a link to a large file transfer (some due diligence on a project), which downloads through the web browser as a big ZIP file. I then browse to the ZIP file and extract the pieces I need - again organizing them in my folder structure. I can the attach those files as needed to an e-mail.

The iPad can do everything I mentioned above, but forces you to think and do differently. There is no attach option in an e-mail. You have to open an app first, that contains the file. In this case, Dropbox perhaps. Then find the file and send it to a new e-mail. It then starts a new e-mail with the file attached. But how do you attach a 2nd file, or 3rd file? Quickoffice Pro HD is a great program for editing Excel and Word files - but it's missing advanced features such as red-lining and tracking changes through versioning. The formatting is many times off as well - with paragraph structures and margins changing. And there are apps to deal with ZIP files, but you must first save the ZIP file out to an app (again, like Dropbox), or send the ZIP to the unzipping app, which will then let you pulls files out into another app (like Dropbox).

I understand why Apple wants to isolate people from the core file system, but in the business world we live and die with files organized the way we want them - with access the way we want it. The iPad could significantly improve if there was a file manager, and apps allows you to browse for files through the system. I've seen jailbroken iPads with some of that functionality.

Take for example the Android platform. Android tablets have a file system, and apps to explore it. Their software allows you to access those files (such as e-mail attachments). It's a bit closer to what I need for a typical work day.
 

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