Bill Gates: iPad users are frustrated

Bill Gates, during an explanation of his former company's rationale for building the Surface tablet, says iPad users are frustrated by the lack of PC-esque features.

The Surface, however, is the first "post-PC" device to bring the "portability of the tablet but the richness of the PC."

In regards to the iPad, which is far and away the most popular tablet, Gates says, "A lot of those users are frustrated, they can't type, they can't create documents, they don't have Office there."

The Surface has been a tough sell, given that the first version released included a crippled version of Windows and the second version has a price tag higher than most notebooks with better specs and more expensive than the iPad.

In the last quarter, Apple sold almost 20 million iPads. Microsoft sold 900,000 Surface.

Full vid via BI:

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 8 May 2013 11:24

joepet200

Hey Bill, Windows 8 users are also very frustrated. 900k vs 20M. Do you still think Apple users are more frustrated than Surface users? How did you get so rich?

8.5.2013 11:31 #1

KSib

I wasn't aware Windows 8 users were frustrated on their tablets. Desktop, yeah probably, but that Surface Pro I would like to have with a keyboard. The problem is, I'm not bleeding money and would rather invest in a new PC, car, wedding ring, etc.

8.5.2013 12:37 #2

jack341

Bill Gates talking about frustration ?
Is like Lance Armstrong complaining about drug usage by a competitor.
Microsoft are the experts on bringing frustration to the PC. Incompatibilies (remember Vista?), blue screens of death (remember all Windows versions ?), slowness (remember many IE versions ?), just to name a few.
Lets see the facts: Many millions of people use their ipads every day to produce or edit content. Emails, documents, presentations, spreadsheets, drawings, notes, etc. They dont need Office for this. They are many alternatives, including Apple own and many other. Office has become irrelevant. The more Gates waits to port Office to iOS, the more difficult it will be to make it a large business. Office is not anymore a must have app. The ipad market is a living proof of this. It thrives and will continue to grow despite not having Office. It just does not need it. 20 million to 900K says it all.

8.5.2013 13:51 #3

Mrguss

Because Apple overprice/control & Microsoft over posing thinking's: Their products sale will slowing down as time goes by. The thing is that more and more people are becoming more tech savvy and want/like the freedom of the open sources & customization. Just saying.

+5000

8.5.2013 16:34 #4

molsen

I think Bill is barking up the wrong tree. While many perople on this forum like open source and no ristrictions. Regular consumers, who are not tech savoy and want to click or press an icon to run an app gravitate to easy. Right now the ipad is easy to use. Surface pro looks nice, but the iPad gave the less tech savy people an alternatitate that is not that diffcult to navigate through.

I think Bill is just trying to gain more sales by bashing the competition, but really MS should look at itself and see where it can better itself. It is not 1984 and Bill and company cannot copy anymore, did I say that? Innovation is the key here. All these big tech companies are more and more complacent in the status quo of updating current offerings.

8.5.2013 19:51 #5

xtago

I think he based this more off the iphone how many young kids bother with an iphone anymore probably none because there is better OS/software or hardware elsewhere.

He just gotta say the ipad because the surface is a tablet not a phone.

9.5.2013 07:59 #6

SProdigy

It's frustrating to not have some of those features in an iPad, but I also realized that when I purchased it. Geesh. I'm not going to pay more for Windows 8, which is awful, scrunched into a wannabe tablet... or is it a notebook? Gah... who cares, I can get a laptop and an iPad for the price of Surface. That makes more sense Bill.

9.5.2013 15:57 #7

8686

Why the obsession with Office? I'm not frustrated with my ipad, nor do I try to use it like a computer. I know it's limitations thus I use it like a tablet. Frustration is a windows computer repair technician.

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10.5.2013 18:38 #8

mukhis

ipad users are frustrated? no!!! ipad potential buyers are hesitating? yes.
surface pro frustration? hell yes!!!

i mean come on M$, you have created a product which is even more halfhearted than ipad. my only complaint with ipad is that it needs crappy itunes and does not have much space (oh well, you can buy 64 GB mini but look at the price); otherwise, ipad is a nice device.

11.5.2013 03:20 #9

rbi149

No usb connection, proprietary iTune bullcrap required to move files, no SD card memory expansion capability, no HDMI output, overpriced- yeah, the iPad is a wonderful piece of technology.

11.5.2013 15:35 #10

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