The rise of tablet PCs and smartphones has created a new technology wave and Microsoft now takes a first step in the tablet industry, attempting to avoid the risk of being left behind.  How? Microsoft is about to release its own tablet called “Surface”. Microsoft announced Surface with Windows RT (ARM-powered) and Surface with Windows 8 pro.

It remains to be seen if Microsoft will beat iPad, Apple’s leading product in this category. So far, Surface has got mixed reviews from various industry experts. Walt Moss Berg of the Wall Street Journal, commented “It’s a unique tablet, made of a type of magnesium with a feeling of quality and care.” But he also added problems he found such as limited number of apps, less battery life, lower quality of screen and camera than the iPad.  These problems have been pointed out by other reviewers. Joshua Topolsky from The Verge, gave the Surface 7 out of 10 points, some of the criticism included weak ecosystem (lack of apps) and buggy software. The general opinion on the Surface seems mixed. Although the ambitious new software is highly appreciated, it is questioned how the Microsoft can overcome competitors with only 5,000 apps (at the time of publishing this post).