Microsoft's new push to take on Apple’s iPad

Microsoft could launch two new products on May 20 which could include an all new Surface Mini and new Surface Pro 3 device through which Microsoft plans to once again take on the iPad market.

According to rumours making the round the Surface Mini will be an 8-inch device and could come with a specially designed stylus with integration to Microsoft One Note. The mini is also expected to be powered by a Qualcomm processor. The Surface RT, currently on sale is a 10.6-inch device with a nVidia Tegra 3 processor at a price point of around Dh1800.

The new Surface Pro 3 is expected to come in various variations and with a larger screen size – possibly a 12 inch display.

Reports suggest that the Surface Pro 3 will start with a i3 device with a 4GB RAM and 64GB storage at $799 (Dh2934) and go way up to an i7 with 8GB RAM and 512 GB storage at a price point of $1949 (Dh7158).

When Microsoft first launched the Surface tablet and the Surface pro it was expected to aggressively take on the iPad. But the Surface sales have been slow and not profitable.

During the first quarter of 2014 Microsoft earned a revenue of $494 million selling its Surface line of tablets an increase compared to the same period last year but it also revealed that its production costs for Surfacetablets and accessories stood at $549 million. That’s still a loss of $45 million.

Now compare this with the iPad which sold about 17.5 million units during the same time frame. But the number of iPad units sold has been dropping and as the consumers hope to replace their laptops and notebooks with a tablet that comes anywhere close in terms of performance, one needs to wait and watch if Microsoft’s new Surface Pro 3 will quite fit this space.