Key difference: At the time of its release, the Microsoft Surface was touted as the perfect cross between a tablet and a laptop. It was initially released February 2013. The Microsoft Surface Pro features a 10.6-inch ClearType HD screen with approximately 208 ppi pixel density. The screen is full HD, a feature not readily avilable in most tablets. The device runs Microsoft Windows 8, which the same OS that is being run in various laptops and desktops. The device has Full Windows capability. It can practically run all Windows programs, including games. Sony has recently announced its revamped smartphone and tablets line. Along with the new flagship phone Sony Xperia Z, the company has also added a new tablet, the Sony Xperia Z Tab. The tablet supports a 10.1 inch TFT capacitive touchscreen and is created using the Sony Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2 technology.

Today is the world of smartphones and tablets. So, much so that tablets and smartphones are attempting to replace the traditional and bulky desktops and laptops. The Microsoft Surface is a series of tablets that aim to do just that. The advantage that the Surface has over a number of other tablets is that it will run the Microsoft Windows operating system, whereas most other tablets run Android. The iPad runs the iOS which is more similar to the iPhone OS rather than a Mac OS. Hence, at the time of its release, the Microsoft Surface was touted as the perfect cross between a tablet and a laptop. It was initially released February 2013.

The Microsoft Surface Pro features a 10.6-inch ClearType HD screen with approximately 208 ppi pixel density. The screen is full HD, a feature not readily avilable in most tablets. The screen affords the true 16:9 aspect ratio which matches most movies and shows, eliminating the black bars that pop up. The Microsoft Surface Pro also has a 10 point multi-touch.

Microsoft Surface Pro is powered by a Dual-core 1.7 GHz Intel Core i5-3317U processor, which is backed by 4 GB of RAM. It also features two cameras, a front-facing and a rear-facing. Both are 720p HD LifeCams with True Color.

The device runs Microsoft Windows 8 Professional, which the same OS that is being run in various laptops and desktops. The device has Full Windows capability. It can practically run all Windows programs, including games.

The device comes in three memory size variants: 64 GB, 128 GB and 256 GB. However, the actual memory storage available for the user is 23GB for the 64 GB variant and 85GB for  128 GB variant. The actual user memory available for the 256 GB is not currently specified. The size disparency is because of the system backup storage recovery partition, which can be manually deleted by experiences users.

The input devices for the Microsoft Surface Pro includes an on screen keyboard, a physical keyboard that doubles as a cover, as well as a pen stylus. The physical keyboard can be purchased separately or as part of a combo with the device itself. It attaches magnetically and electrically to the base of the tablet.

Physically, the device is quite similar to the Microsoft Surface RT, same look, and same color. However, it is thicker than the RT and has a full USB 3.0 port, in addition to a Micro-HDMI port, microSDXC card slot, Headset jack, Mini DisplayPort and Cover port. Similar to RT, it also has a built in kickstand, which has been critized by some as beinf too difficult to manage. Additionally, Microsoft has also acknowledged issues with the stylus pen. The stylus pen has been reported by some users as randomly not working correctly, especially with older applications that do not have complete pen support. There have also been some reported issues with Wi-Fi and while waking up from standby mode.

Sony has recently announced its revamped smartphone and tablets line. Along with the new flagship phone Sony Xperia Z, the company has also added a new tablet, the Sony Xperia Z Tab. It shares many features to its little brother, but is also different in many ways. The Xperia Z tab has already seen the light of day in Japan in January, while it was recently unwrapped for global availability. The company’s claims the tablet to the lightest and the slimmest LTE tablet available in the market. The tablet supports a 10.1 inch TFT capacitive touchscreen and is created using the Sony Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2 technology. Similar to its little brother, the phone is water-resistant and dust proof. The phone can be submerged about 1 meter for 30 minutes without any damage (However, all the ports and slots should be firmly closed). The phone can also withstand water jets and the screen is coated with shatter-proof film coating. The borders of the tablet have been designed in a way to not obstruct side viewing.

The tablet houses the 1.5 GHz Krait Quad-core processor and the Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8064 chipset. The tablet runs on 4.1.2 Jelly Bean and can be upgraded to 4.2 Jelly Bean. It is available with 16/32 GB internal memory, which can further be upgraded up to 64 GB. The company has maintained the camera technology on the tablet. The tablet houses 8.1 MP Exmor R primary camera and a 2.1 MP secondary camera for video chatting. The phone offers features such as Superior Auto, geo-tagging, Exmor R for mobile image sensor, HDR for both picture/film, continue burst mode, scene recognition, sweep panorama, smile detection, face detection and touch focus.  Superior Auto automatically adjusts the shooting profile depending on the shot that is being taken. Additional features include face unlock, screenshot capturing, wake-up mode, screen mirroring, throw feature, TV side view and remote control application. The throw feature allows users to automatically connect and play mobile content on any devices that can be connected to the phone via screen mirroring, DLNA or Bluetooth. Face Unlock allows users to place their face in front of their phones to unlock the photo. The company has not yet announced pricing of the tablet.

The information for the detailed table about the two devices has been taken from the Microsoft website, Sony Mobile website, GSMArena.com and Wikipedia.

Image Courtesy: microsoft.com, sonymobile.com