14 DAY TRIAL // Bill Gates doesn’t talk too much about Microsoft’s latest products, but when he does it, the software giant’s co-founder tries to praise the latest products as much as possible.
This time, Gates has said in an interview with CNBC that the Surface tablet mixes the best of a PC and of a tablet, thus providing users with on-the-go productivity tools, such as the Office suite.
That’s the main difference between the Surface and the iPad, he said.
“So, as you say, PCs are a big market. It's going to be harder and harder to distinguish products whether they're tablets or PCs, with Windows 8, Microsoft is trying to gain share in what has been dominated by the iPad-type device,” Bill Gates explained.
“But a lot of those users are frustrated, they can't type, they can't create documents, they don't have Office there, so we're providing them with the benefits of something they've seen and made that a big category, but without giving up what they expect in a PC.”
As far as Windows 8 is concerned, Bill Gates did nothing more than to reiterate the words of all the other Microsoft executives who tried to convince everyone that the company’s new operating system packs all the features a touch-capable device would need.
“Windows 8 is revolutionary in that it takes the benefits of a tablet and the benefits of a PC, and it's able to support both of those – so if you have Surface, Surface Pro, you've got that portability of a tablet but the richness of a PC in terms of the keyboard, Microsoft Office of a PC,” Gates continued.
Word is that Microsoft has already completed the development of the second-generation Surface tablet, with sources familiar with the matter suggesting that the tech giant could unveil the device as soon as next month.
The company is already planning to start selling smaller units, most likely with 8-inch displays, which could be powered by Windows Blue, the first Windows 8 upgrade due this summer.