What differences are there between Microsoft's Surface and the iPad?

SAN FRANCISCO: When Microsoft Corp took the wraps off its Surface tablets on Monday in Los Angeles, it was the brightly hued keyboard that stole the show.
The "Touch Cover" - a protective cover-cum-keyboard - could be a key differentiator for Microsoft as it tries to dent Apple Inc's
iPad franchise, analysts said. It also represents the latest turn in an
intensifying philosophical debate about how humans can best interact
with their machines.
In the early days of the Apple
iPad, argument raged about whether the device could succeed without a
traditional keyboard--a question the gadget's subsequent popularity
seemingly settled. But the iPad's "virtual" keyboard, which senses the
heat of a finger on the glass screen, is considered by most users to be
unsuitable for extensive typing.
Before the iPad, the debate
centered on whether the free-form stylus was the best tool for telling
a computer what to do. Apple's Newton, the original personal digital
device, used a stylus, as did previous Microsoft entries in the tablet
arena. But stylus solutions have since fallen out of favor.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Corporate
Vice President of Windows Planning, Hardware & PC Ecosystem Michael
Angiulo holds the new Surface tablet computer and keyboard during his
presentation as it is unveiled in Los Angeles, California, June 18,
2012. REUTERS/David McNew Recently, the conversation
has shifted to contact-less interfaces, including voice-commands, a
concept that Apple's own Siri brought to the fore, and
gesture-recognition, as demonstrated in gaming by Microsoft's own
Kinect.
Researchers are now even experimenting with computers
that respond directly to electrical signals from the brain. Eventually
one might only need to think of what the computer should do to make it
happen.
In the meantime, though, Microsoft is betting that an
improved version of the tried-and-true will be enough to make a
difference.
ULTRATHIN DESIGN
The Touch Cover technology
was developed at Microsoft by a researcher named Stevie Bathiche,
according to Panos Panay, leader of the team that created the Microsoft
Surface.
Executives showed off two keyboard models on Monday.
The Touch Cover features an ultrathin design of 3 millimeters, without
mechanical keys. A second, called the Type Cover, is 2 millimeters
thicker and includes mechanical keys.
Both operate using the
same multi-touch digitizer, which Microsoft said is 10 times faster
than any keyboard in use today. The Touch Cover uses
pressure-sensitivity to detect when a user is trying to input
keystrokes, as opposed to simply resting fingertips on the home row.
"It knows the grams of force coming off my fingertips," Panay said as he demonstrated the product.
The
keyboard clings magnetically to the Surface and can remain attached as
a cover. It can be folded back while still connected, and its internal
accelerometer turns it off while in the closed or folded-back position.
Rick
Sherlund, an analyst with Nomura Securities, said the keyboard could be
a critical feature for people who use the tablet not just for reading
or viewing or browsing the Web, but for creating spreadsheets or
documents or other types of written content.
"Is Microsoft going
to beat Apple with a sexier tablet? I don't think so," Sherlund said.
But he added: "You're going to want a keyboard with anything related to
Windows." - Reuters