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Microsoft hits iPad Air in new holiday-themed ads geared towards family usage

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsknmA96Jv0]

Microsoft has previously aired commercials that targeted the iPad comparing multitasking and mocked Siri. Microsoft airs new commercials in time for the holidays that pits the Surface 2 against Apple’s iPad Air. These three new ads demonstrate that Windows 8 can handle hands free mode, multiple accounts and has a USB port.

Microsoft’s first ad (above) shows the Surface 2 being propped up with the kickstand, using Bing’s Food and Drink app to demonstrate hands free mode. While cooking you can turn the pages by swiping them in the air, as opposed to touching the display and getting it messy. We admit it, that’s a nice (if niche) feature – though most recipes fit on one page, of course.

The second shows the Surface 2 being used in family scenarios, with multiple user accounts on the same device. These user accounts can have different apps, games, background – with parents able to monitor what their children are using. I’m not sure too many families bother to set up different accounts on PCs, let alone tablets.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knSd7-i9u1c]

The third shows how the Surface 2 has a standard USB 3.0 port, allowing users to easily connect to an external display. Because having to use a lead is so much better than Air Play …

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENxd851LuCw&w=640&h=360]

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Latest Windows 8 tablet commercial uses Siri to mock iPad ads, pricing, capabilities

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86JMcy5OqZA?rel=0]

Microsoft’s latest television commercial for Windows 8 tablets uses a Siri voice-over to mock the iPad’s pricing and capabilities. The ad appears to frame Windows 8 tablets as more capable for productivity and more valuable for the price (via The Verge). What’s somewhat comical here is that one of the few advantages Microsoft touts for its tablets is the ability to run PowerPoint, something Microsoft has clearly been holding back from the iPad for some time now. Would it surprise anyone to see another couple of ads in this series focusing on Word and Excel?

Oh, and how much of that 64GB of space on the Windows tablet at the end is free for media? You’re lucky to get half of the space.

Microsoft’s ad is in similar style to Apple’s late 2012 advertisement to introduce the iPad mini. Apple’s ad below:


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