Microsoft Goes After iPad Mini in New Ad Promoting Acer Tablet

What's This?

By Seth Fiegerman2013-08-08 18:50:19 UTC

Microsoft has released a series of ads in recent months criticizing Apple's iPad in an effort to promote the Surface tablets. Now, Microsoft is going after the iPad mini in a new ad, and leaving the Surface out of it.

The video, which was posted to YouTube on Thursday, compares the iPad mini to the 8-inch Acer Iconia W3, which runs Windows 8. As with Microsoft's other anti-Apple ads, this one lets Siri narrate all the things a Windows tablet can do that an iPad supposedly can't.

See also: Why Microsoft's Surface RT Failed

The Acer tablet is shown operating Halo, Microsoft Outlook and Office, while the iPad mini is portrayed as just being a device for reading. "Wow you are a real PC," Siri says in the video. "Let's just go back to reading."

Acer's Iconia W3 is the first small-screen Windows 8 tablet, and more are expected to follow in the fall with the release of Windows 8.1, which introduces formal small-screen support.

Microsoft's anti-Apple ads have generated a fair amount of press for the company, but it apparently hasn't done much to help with its tablet sales. Microsoft has been slashing prices on its Surface tablets and revealed last month that it has taken a $900 million charge related to the Surface RT.

Image: YouTube, WindowsVideos

Topics: Advertising, apple, Business, Gadgets, iPad Mini, Microsoft