Apple CEO Likens Surface To Car That Flies, Floats

theodp writes "Conceding that he hadn't actually played with one, Apple CEO Tim Cook told Wall Street that Microsoft's Surface tablet is 'a fairly compromised, confusing product' in the company's 4Q earnings call. Cook joked, 'I supposed you could design a car that flies and floats, but it wouldn't do those things very well.' In Apple's 2Q earnings call, Cook also mocked the idea of touch on a laptop or desktop, quipping, 'You can converge a toaster and a refrigerator, but those things are probably not going be pleasing to the user.' Cook added, 'We've done tons of user testing on this, and it turns out it doesn't work. Touch surfaces don't want to be vertical.' So, is Cook just pulling a page from Steve Jobs' people-don't-read-anymore playbook, or is he unaware that children happily used vertical touch screens forty years ago on UIUC's PLATO System (more PLATO History)?"

Re:Fatigue

[tylikcat]

I can't be the only person who, after working with tablets / netbooks with touch screens (in my case primarily an Asus Transformer) finds that I now have a deep seated expectation that all screens should have touch interfaces, and not infrequently find myself poking at my laptop. Not for all uses, of course. For heavy use I'm far more likely to use another point controller (by preference either a clit mouse or wacom tablet) but as another option? I'd use it all the time on any screen that's fairly close to me.

Re:Must be unbiased

[Kupfernigk]

The share price is currently in the deepest fall for a while. The load of new announcements did nothing to change this. They have apparently issued a 13Q1 income warning. Remember the claims they would soon hit $1000? If the hype ever starts to be doubted, a lot of people will lose money even if the company is very profitable, and those people will express their displeasure. The fact that they are gamblers doesn't make things any better for them.

Re:DOA..

[jellomizer]

Yea, I will accept the authority of your biggest competitor to make your decisions. What do you expect Tim Cook to say. "It actually looks like a good product, we are now shaking in our boots."?

I have been using Windows 8 for a few months as my primary OS at home... Overall I have been quite please with it. I expect as more Windows UI aka Metro apps are made there will be less of an issue of arm vs. Intel.

Re:DOA..

[itof500]

Interestingly it appears that Microsoft was quite complementary about the iPad during its presentation.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6385/microsoft-surface-review [anandtech.com]

  A Different Perspective

A week ago, I sat in an auditorium and listened to Steve Sinofsky talk about the tablet market. He talked about how the iPad was a great device, and a logical extension of the iPhone. Give iOS a bigger screen and all of the sudden you could do some things better on this new device. He talked about Android tablets, and Google’s learning process there, going from a phone OS on a tablet to eventually building Holo and creating a tablet-specific experience. He had nothing but good things to say about both competitors. I couldn’t tell just how sincere he was being, I don’t know Mr. Sinofsky all that well, but his thoughts were genuine, his analysis spot-on. Both Apple and Google tablets were good, in their own ways. What Steve said next didn’t really resonate with me until I had spent a few days with Surface. He called Surface and Windows RT Microsoft’s “perspective” on tablets. I don’t know if he even specifically called it a tablet, what stuck out was his emphasis on perspective.

Re:DOA..

[jbolden]

That wasn't the 1980s. The iMac he was setting up is from 1998.