The iPad mini. It's been the subject of rumor and speculation. Its size has been labeled as DOA by no less than Steve Jobs himself, yet it's also been championed by Eddy Cue. Its very existence has been doubted, and not without reason. Yet the iPad mini is real. 7.85-inches and not crippled by smartphone software stretched out, but made powerful by tablet software at scale. The iPad mini is an iPad, only slightly smaller and thinner, and much lighter. And Apple will likely be announcing it on October 23.

iPad mini timeline

Apple has been experimenting with smaller form factor tablet for while, perhaps as far back as the original Safari pad project that ultimately yielded the iPhone in 2007, and certainly since Apple SVP Eddy Cue helped warm Apple's late co-founder, Steve Jobs to the idea back in 2011.

Back in March of 2012, iMore learned that Apple had decided to go ahead with the iPad mini, that it would be running the iPad version of iOS, that it would cost around $200-$250, and that it was tentatively planned for an October 2012 release.

Since then iMore and others have learned a lot more, and the release has gone from tentative to almost certain. While nothing is ever confirmed, of course, until Apple holds it up on stage, here's an updated run through of what we think we know to date.

The iPad mini form factor

With a screen that diagonally measures 7.85 inches across, the iPad mini may not seem that much smaller than the current 9.7-inch iPad. That's exactly right. It's not supposed to be a major compromise in screen size or usability. It's supposed to be a major compromise in overall volume and weight. It'll be a similar type of optical illusion to the one Apple achieved with smaller but larger, less of it but more of it iPhone 5. The iPad mini will seem impossibly thin and light, yet the screen will still look relatively big, especially with the reduced bezel around it.

Just like the iPod touch's thinness and lightness allows for an even smaller bezel, the relative thinness and lightness of the iPad mini will allow for less bezel, while still making it easy to hold. But the important thing to remember is -- it won't be a big iPod touch. It will be a small iPad, and here's why that makes such a difference:

• iPad mini won't be much smaller, but will be a lot narrower, thinner, and lighter

With that out of the way, the question becomes one of finishes. The iPhone 5 and iPod touch 5 have anodized aluminum backs with a very different look and feel to the current iPad aluminum back. The iPod touch 5 even comes in multiple colors now, including blue, red, yellow, and pink. Odds are Apple won't go nonochromatic on the iPod mini, at least not this year, but they could very well be using all the new manufacturing processes as those other recent devices.

The iPad mini purpose

Neither the 7 inch BlackBerry PlayBook, nor the 7 inch Amazon Kindle Fire, nor the 7 inch Google Nexus 7 have taken the world by storm. In fact, most of them aren't even that usable outside the U.S. due to the lack of content RIM, Amazon, and Google can provide internationally.

Apple won't have that problem. They already have the iTunes Store at global scale, and they already sell the current iPad in over 90 countries world wide. The iPad mini will be the same story, only with lighter, less expensive hardware. And that's important. Even considering the current iPad's incredible market lead, some customers may simply not be buying it because it's too heavy or too expensive. With an iPad mini,

Apple's goal is to mainstream computing. They want to sell hundreds of millions of devices that delight exactly the type of consumer usually left frustrated and alienated by technology. The iPad mini removes two large, expensive barriers of entry.

• Why Apple would release a 7-inch iPad

It will also, frankly, step on Amazon and hard. If Apple chooses to put a heavy emphasis on books for the iPad mini, that pressure only intensifies. Right now, chances are if you walk onto an airplane you might see some Kindles mixed in with the iPads. The iPad mini is aimed at fixing that.

The iPad mini interface

The original iPhone interface had 44 pixel touch targets at 163 ppi. The original iPad kept the same 44 pixel touch target but at a lower density, 132 ppi. That made them physically bigger. Scaling the 9.7-inch iPad interface down to 7.85-inches simply returns those 44 pixel touch targets to 163 ppi, the same physical size as the original iPhone. It will be slightly big for one handed use, slightly small for two, but it will be eminently workable. The "slack" that currently exists between 3.5-inch iPhone interface elements and 9.7-inch iPad elements would just disappear, and you'd have the same basic iPad look with the same basic iPhone usability. Here's how it would work:

• Solving for 7: How Apple could implement the iPad mini interface

The iPad mini display

On one hand, it's hard to imagine Apple releasing a non-Retina iOS device at this point. The current generation iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad are all running at Retina resolutions. On the other hand, no iOS device has ever been introduced with a Retina display. The original iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad were all launched with standard displays, and later received Retina displays as part of their upgrade cycles.

Rumor has it, Apple experimented with a Retina display in the 2011 iPad 2 but due to price and yield issues, had to wait until the 2012 iPad to ship it. Arguably, 2048x1536 is right at the edge of what the 9.7-inch iPad can handle. Likewise, it's possible Apple has experimented with a Retina display for the iPad mini but not for the one that's rumored to be shipping this year.

In all likelihood, the iPad mini will ship with a panel the same density as the iPhone 3GS, though there are several options:

• Regarding Retina: How Apple could handle the 7-inch iPad mini display

What's more interesting, however, is whether or not Apple will use the same new in-cell technology as they do in the iPhone 5 and iPod touch 5. With the touch sensor combined into the LCD, two layers become one and the pixels get closer to the surface than ever before, and it could make for the best looking non-Retina panel ever.

The iPad mini and LTE

There have been some rumors saying Apple won't include cellular connectivity in the iPad mini in an effort to either keep costs down or artificially differentiate the iPad mini from the current iPad. Keeping costs down is a non-reason. The current iPad has a low cost, Wi-Fi only option, and a $130 up-sell for cellular. Apple could and likely will do the same here. And since there's a real differentiator, namely size, Apple doesn't need an artificial one.

Sure, the iPod touch has never had a cellular radio, but this is an iPad mini, not an iPod maxi. The Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire 7 are useless to anyone who needs cellular data. It's highly unlikely Apple will ship an iPad mini -- an even more mobile iPad -- that isn't great at being mobile.

Put the new, iPhone 5-class cellular radio in the iPad mini, and you have an international data powerhouse.

What Apple could call the 7-inch iPad

"7-inch iPad", "iPad mini", "iPad Air", or something else entirely, whatever name Apple chooses for the new, smaller iPad will influence how the public understands the device and its place in the iOS lineup.

Apple's branding is typically as succinct as Occam's Razor. Earlier this year, they took it a step further and rebranded what would have been the iPad 3 as simply the (new) iPad. While we probably won't see Phil Schiller on stage beneath a slide reading "the small iPad", we probably will see him beneath one reading something similarly simple. Here are the possibilities:

• The name game: What Apple could call the 7-inch iPad

Could Apple sell a $200 iPad mini?

Apple has a long history of successfully marketing the same form factor at multiple sizes. Just look at the MacBook Pro and Macbook Air lines. You have 11-, 13-, and 15-inches options (and until a couple of months ago, 17-inches as well). Tablets could just as easily come in multiple sizes. Once you pick an aspect ratio, the size should just be an option.

• Could Apple sell a $200 iPad mini?

An 8GB iPad mini with a 7.85-inch screen is a legitimate trade-off against a 16GB iPod touch 4 with a 3.5-inch screen at $2xx dollars. A higher capacity iPad mini is also a legitimate trade-off against a higher capacity iPod touch 5. For Apple, lack of size isn't a discountable feature. Mobility is a sellable feature.

Nothing other than what Apple thinks is the best balance between what will drive the highest revenue and gain the most marketshare will determine the price point.

More on the iPad mini

For more on the iPad mini, iPad air, or whatever Apple ends up calling it, check out:

• iPad mini
• iPad mini forum

Also check out John Gruber's deep dive:

• Thinking This iPad Mini Thing Even Througher

Siri has become a full blown sports fan with iOS 6. Whether you're on the road and desperate for the latest news, or at a bar and just as desperate to win a bet, Siri now has you covered. From current game scores to upcoming schedules, player stats to team rosters and standings, you can query and compare to your soccer, football, baseball, and hockey from the following leagues:

• Soccer: Italian Seria A, English Premier League, Dutch Eredivisie, Major League Soccer, French Ligue 1, Spanish La Liga, and German Bundesliga
• Baseball: Major League Baseball
• Football: NCAA Football, NFL
• Basketball: NCAA Basketball, NBA, WNBA

• Hockey: NHL

• How to look up current scores and game information using Siri

• How to look up game schedules using Siri
• How to look up player statistics using Siri
• How to look up league standings using Siri

How to look up current scores and game information with Siri

Siri makes it easy to keep up with games or to check in on a score for a game you may have missed. By default Siri will pull the score for the game currently going on or the last game a certain team played.

1. Press and hold down the Home button to activate Siri.

2. Ask Siri something like "What's the score for the Chicago Bears game?" or "What was the score for last night's Chicago Bears game?"

3. Siri will search for a game currently going on or she will give you scores for the most recent game that specific team played and present you with the information.

How to look up game schedules with Siri

Siri can give you a list of scheduled games if you just ask her for them. While some sports may show a few upcoming games, many sports, like football, will only show the next upcoming game for either a league or specific team.

1. Press and hold down the Home button to activate Siri.

2. Say something like "When do the Chicago bears play next?" or "Tell me when the next Chicago Bears game is." or "When is the next NFL game scheduled for?"
3. Siri will give you information on the next game scheduled for that particular league or team.

How to look up player statistics with Siri

1. Press and hold down the Home button to activate Siri.

2. Ask Siri something like "Does Matt Ryan or Jay Cutler have more touchdowns?" or something even simpler like "Show me stats for Jay Cutler."
3. Siri will either give you a comparison of the players you've asked about or the stats for the specific player you want to know about.

How to look up league standings with Siri

1. Press and hold down the Home button to activate Siri.

2. Ask Siri something about the league you want rankings for. You can say things like "Show me current NFL standings." or "Show me the standings for the MLB."
3. Siri will pull the standings for whatever sports association you are looking for.

Apple has lost an appeal against a UK ruling regarding the similarity of the Samsung Galaxy Tab line of tablets to the iPad, and will be forced to run ads acknowledging that Samsung did not, in fact, copy the iPad design. The decision comes after Apple appealed a July ruling by the High Court that Samsung's Galaxy Tab line of tablets did not infringe on the iPad's design. Apple will have to post a link to the original judgement on its UK website, as well as run ads in major publications, the BBC reports:

The US firm had previously been ordered to place a notice to that effect - with a link to the original judgement - on its website and place other adverts in the Daily Mail, Financial Times, T3 Magazine and other publications to "correct the damaging impression" that Samsung was a copycat.

The appeal judges decided not to overturn the decision on the basis that a related Apple design-rights battle in the German courts risked causing confusion in consumers' minds.

The three judges determined that the Galaxy Tab did not infringe on the iPad based on the tests for infringement under UK law. This included the fact that Samsung's logo is on the front of their device, where Apple's registered design states that there should be "no ornamentation", and also that the Apple's design features a "sharp edge", which the Galaxy Tab does not. The Samsung design was also said to be "altoghether busier" than that of the iPad. Apple can still choose to appeal this decision to the UK Supreme Court.

Despite some victories Apple has lost a number of lawsuits to Samsung in a number of countries over tablet design. It should be noted that even in the case of the win in the US, Samsung was found not to have infringed on the iPad's design, and their loss was entirely because the jury felt that they had infringed on the iPhone.

So was the Court of Appeal right in their decision that Samsung did not copy the iPad? Should Apple be forced to publicy acknowledge this on their website and in the press?

Tweetbot for Mac officially hits the Mac App Store today, and thanks to Tweetbot for iOS developer Paul Haddad simultaneously ducking behind him, and throwing him in front of the camera, I had a chance to chat with Tweetbot for Mac developer Todd Thomas about the newest Tapbots creation, and their first for OS X.

We covered everything from the impetuous for Tweetbot for Mac, to the development process, to the price point and the realities of living -- and selling -- in a post-restricted user token world.

To round things out, and get a little more clarity on the design side, I also had a chance to catch up with Tapbots' Mark Jardine over old-school text.

On the Tweetbot, and Tapbots in general, aesthetic has been iOS only until now, and what it was like translating that to the Mac:

One of my primary goals of Tweetbot for Mac was to keep the same aesthetic going throughout while still feeling like a Mac app. I'm not sure I succeeded, but I tried my best. It's kind of funny because Tapbots started out with very experimental UI ideas and have always been purposefully over-the-edge so to speak. I know it's definitely not for everyone, but it's been a very fun experience. It worked out really well for our utility apps, but pushing our look and feel onto a Twitter client was a huge risk. I'm well aware that many find it too busy, but this is after all a Tapbots app and the brand must live on through each app we do under this company. The funny thing is my design work is traditionally very minimalistic. I'd say to the point of being a bit bland. So it always makes me chuckle when people associate this look with my personal style. I guess I should take that as a compliment to my brand consistency?

Anyways, back to Tweetbot for Mac. Some early designs started out with the light-colored chrome familiar to most Mac apps. But it just didn't feel like Tweetbot to me. One of the big issues with going with a dark interface is by default, OSX apps look horrible with it. Look at Apple's Reminders app over a light background for example. The edges become muddy because the 1px app border just isn't dark enough. So we ended up hacking a few things together to get it to look right. There are a few other issues as a result, but we are working through them.

I knew from the very beginning that I would be taking the iPad app's navigation interface and applying it on the Mac. I think that ties the apps together well. Everything else was really a mix between what worked on the iPhone and what worked on the iPad. If something didn't work right, we'd rethink it all.

The biggest challenge was definitely solving all the problems that come up with this new (to me at least) platform altogether. When I design for the iPad, I miss all the constraints of the iPhone. When I design for the Mac, I miss the constraints of iOS. Having strict boundaries gives me time to focus on ever little detail. The scope of the UI and experience of apps on the Mac is just really large...especially when you start going custom with the UI. This app took us a year to develop and I still feel like there's still so much more to improve. It will get better though and I've learned a lot from this experience.

On the gesture shortcuts in iOS and moving those over to the Mac:

I'll be honest with you. It was Paul and Todd who spent most of the time figuring out the gestures and keyboard shortcuts. I just made sure nothing felt really out of place. Apple's trackpads/magic mice definitely helps make the transition from iOS to Mac a bit smoother.

The hardest decision related to input device differences was with the tweet drawer. Originally we planned on having our signature tweet drawer in the Mac app. But after a few prototypes we quickly learned that it just didn't feel right at all on the Mac. We tried a bunch of different things and ended up settling with the hover action we have now. I'm still not quite sure it's the best solution, but that's the conclusion we ended up with.

If you haven't already, be sure to check out our full Tweetbot for Mac review, and if you like what you see, grab the app via the link below.

• $19.99 - Download now

Tweetbot for Mac is here! After a public alpha followed by a public beta, Tweetbot has officially been released in the Mac App Store. Everything you love about Tweetbot for iPhone and iPad including the familiar interface, gestures, and sounds, are now brought to the Mac and the experience is exactly what you'd expect -- wonderful.

The look and feel of Tweetbot for Mac is similar to the iPhone and iPad version of Tweetbot, yet tweeked to be more appropriate for the Mac. The left hand side has a column of tabs that take you to your timeline, mentions, messages, favorites, retweets, mute filters, and more. You can change the size of the window to fit your needs -- from short and skinny to wide and tall. Tweetbot for Mac also lets you open different tabs and views in new columns and windows, including the timelines of multiple accounts, so that you have many screens available simultaneously, as shown in the screenshot above.

Tweetbot for Mac supports shortcuts and gestures to make the desktop Twitter experience quick, easy, and natural. For example cmd+n will create a new tweet, cmd+r will reply to the selected tweet, a swipe to the right will open conversation view, and swipe to the left will open the tweet detail view. And instead of Tweetbot for iOS' trademark action drawer, if you hover over a tweet icons that let you reply, retweet, mark as favorite, share, and more overlay on top of it.

When creating a new tweet or replying to an existing tweet, a little window will popup that looks like a speech bubble coming from the new tweet button or the tweet you're replying to. It will move around, staying relative to the main Tweetbot window, unless and until you tear it off and reposition it somewhere else. When replying to a tweet, the popup will also display the conversation associated with that tweet underneath the text entry field. This is a great reference and helps you keep track of the conversation at hand.

There are many adjustments and tweaks that can be made in Tweetbot for Mac's preferences including sounds, font size, display name, date format, quote format, and the option to pin the timeline to the top so that you don't have to scroll to see new tweets -- they just appear as they come in. Tweetbot for Mac also supports multiple accounts and lets you choose URL shortening, image upload, video upload, read-later, and sync (including iCloud) services individually for each one. You can also select if you want notifications for mentions, retweets, favorites, and follows.

Now the price. Tweetbot for Mac is $19.99, which is substantially more than the iPhone or iPad version. Unfortunately, during the Tweetbot for Mac alpha period, Twitter changed their Rules of the Road to greatly restrict the amount of user tokens third party apps could use. That means Tweetbot for Mac will only ever be able to activate a limited number of users, which means a limited number of customers. If you have a limited resource and a limited market, prices go up. You can't spread development and support costs, and profit margins out over a huge quantity of users, so each user pays more. Tapbots is pricing according to the market conditions Twitter has created, and they're probably not the last Twitter app maker that's going to have to do that.

Thanks Twitter.

The good

• Very similar to Tweetbot for iPhone and iPad with the same gestures, sounds, and UI
• Open multiple columns and windows
• Notifications for mentions, direct messages, retweets, favorites, and follows
• Four font sizes
• Support for bitly, Instapaper, Pinboard, Pocket, and Readability
• Mute filters
• Support for multiple accounts
• Double-tap Message tab to mark them all as read
• Lists support
• Search
• Drafts
• iCloud sync

The bad

• Sometimes there is a delay when sending Tweets
• Can only choose one read-later service

The bottom line

Tweetbot for Mac is the best Twitter app currently available for the Mac. If you're a big fan of Tweetbot for iPhone and iPad and also a Mac user, what are you waiting for? Download Tweetbot for Mac!

$19.99 - Download Now

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Verizon has reported that Q3 2012 results, including over 3.1 million iPhones sold, over a fifth of which were Apple's latest generation iPhone 5. That compares to 3.4 million Android phones. That's an interesting mix given the iPhone 5 launched less than a month ago, and iPhone sales in general were greatly reduced prior to that. Lowell McAdam, Verizon chairman and CEO had this to say:

In the third quarter, Verizon continued to deliver double-digit earnings growth and strong cash generation, and we remain solidly on track to meet our financial objectives for the year. With our 4G LTE network advantage, well-received Share Everything Plans and unmatched product portfolio, Verizon Wireless continues to do an outstanding job of balancing growth and profitability. Wireless achieved record profitability in a quarter in which we reported the highest number of retail postpaid gross and net adds in four years.

And the Verizon Wireless specific results:

Verizon Wireless Results: Record Profitability, Strong Customer and Revenue Growth

In third-quarter 2012, Verizon Wireless delivered the highest number of retail postpaid net additions in four years; strong growth in revenues; an increase in smartphone penetration; and the highest segment EBITDA margin on service revenues (non-GAAP) in the company's history, surpassing last quarter's previous high.

Wireless Financial Highlights

• Service revenues in the quarter totaled $16.2 billion, up 7.5 percent year over year. Retail service revenues grew 7.9 percent year over year, to $15.5 billion.
• Total revenues were $19.0 billion, up 7.3 percent year over year.
• Retail postpaid ARPA (average revenue per account) grew 6.5 percent over third-quarter 2011, to $145.42 per month. Following the recent introduction of the Share Everything Plan and as customers continue to add multiple devices to accounts, Verizon Wireless now reports ARPA instead of ARPU since customers can share data among multiple devices.
• Wireless operating income margin was 31.8 percent and segment EBITDA margin on service revenues (non-GAAP) was 50.0 percent, setting record highs for the second consecutive quarter.

Wireless Operational Highlights

• Verizon Wireless added 1.8 million retail net connections in the third quarter, including 1.5 million retail postpaid net connections, the highest in four years. These additions exclude acquisitions and adjustments.
• At the end of the third quarter, the company had 95.9 million retail connections, a 5.7 percent increase year over year, including 90.4 million retail postpaid connections.
• Verizon Wireless had 34.8 million retail postpaid accounts at the end of the third quarter, a 1.0 percent increase over the third quarter 2011, and an average of 2.6 connections per account, up 4.0 percent year over year. At the end of the third quarter, smartphones constituted more than 53 percent of Verizon Wireless' retail postpaid customer phone base, up from 50 percent at the end of second-quarter 2012.
• Retail postpaid churn was 0.91 percent in the third quarter, an improvement of 3 basis points year over year. Total retail churn was 1.18 percent in the third quarter, an improvement of 8 basis points year over year.
• Verizon Wireless continued to roll out its 4G LTE mobile broadband network, the largest 4G LTE network in the U.S. As of today (Oct. 18), Verizon Wireless 4G LTE service is available to more than 250 million people in 419 markets across the U.S.
• The company introduced seven 4G LTE smartphones in third-quarter 2012: the DROID Incredible 4G LTE by HTC, Samsung Galaxy S III, Pantech Marauder, Intuition by LG, Samsung Galaxy Stellar, DROID RAZR M by Motorola, Apple iPhone 5; and one 4G LTE tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2. The company also announced the availability of the DROID RAZR HD and the RAZR MAXX HD by Motorola, which are launching today.
• After receiving FCC approval in late August, Verizon Wireless purchased AWS spectrum from SpectrumCo and Cox Communications, and also completed its spectrum transactions with T-Mobile USA Inc., Leap Wireless and Savary Island Wireless.

Source: Verizon

Apple has reportedly bought troubled, sometimes outright mocked, startup Color Labs for somewhere in the double-digit millions, or at least enough to pay off investors' who forked over $41 million to date. Color Labs was founded by entrepreneur Bill Nguyen, the same entrepreneur who also founded Lala, which was also sold to Apple, also for double-digit millions. So clearly, winning strategy. Ken Yeung and Matthew Panzarino of The Next Web have the story, and a theory as to why Apple would fill Nguyen's wallet. Again.

We would look to Color's patents, which may include one for a file format that they were working on to record HD video. Color said that it had six patents pending at the time of its funding, including its 'elastic' social graph and patents related to GPS location and battery saving. Or its software engineering team could be the target, if Apple was impressed by their work.

Developer Daniel Jalkut also wrote on his Bitsplitting blog that additional patents could be at play:

Interestingly enough, Color has apparently only recently published several patent applications related to sharing of information among "device groups." The applications listed are all published within the past month and a half, and all feature iPhone-like art in the supporting illustrations.

This would be the third alternate ending for Color Labs reported this week, with VentureBeat originally claiming Color was shutting down, and TechCrunch then claiming twas not so.

If Apple did indeed buy Color Labs, and Nguyen returns to Apple, it'll be interesting to see how long he lasts this time, or how long it takes him to leave an create a company names after a smell or flavor.

Source: The Next Web, Bitsplitting

Check the Weather is a great weather app for the iPhone that has an elegant, minimalist design yet offers advanced forecast details including current conditions, hazardous weather alerts, and hourly and extended forecasts. For users within the United States it also shows a live doppler weather radar map and Dark Sky powered short term precipitation forecasts.

The main screen of Check the Weather displays the current temperature, an icon that represents the current conditions, a line graph of the temperature forecast for the next 15 hours or so, and a three day forecast that includes the high, low, and icon that represents the weather conditions. At the bottom of the screen, you'll see the time of next sunrise and sunset and in icon that represents the state of the moon (full moon, half moon, crescent). All this information is displayed in a very uncluttered matter and looks clean.

If you swipe up the screen, Check the Weather will reveal a live doppler weather map. You can pinch and zoom on the map and navigate around by swiping and scrolling. The map looks great and performs great.

Just like you can swipe up to pull up the radar map, you can swipe left to view a 14-day forecast or swipe right to reveal a 16-hour forecast. The daily forecast will show the day of the week, an icon to represent the conditions, the high and low, and for the first 7 days, the chance for precipitation. The hourly forecast display the temperature, chance for perception, and an icon that represents the conditions.

The good

• Elegant design
• Line graph to represent forecast
• Live doppler weather map
• 14-day forecast (3-day forecast on main screen)
• 16-hour forecast
• Swipe down, left, or right to reveal the different screens of Check the Weather
• Save unlimited locations
• Option for 24-hour time
• Fahrenheit and Celsius support

The bad

• Hourly forecasts don't begin until 3 hours from the current time
• Sometimes the radar doesn't load. Killing the app and reloading usually fixes it.

The bottom line

Check the Weather is a fantastic weather app that will appeal to both the minimalists and those who want a little extra like radars. The only radar included with Check the Weather is a live doppler, but I believe this helps contribute the uncluttered feel of the app. The folks at Cross Forward Consulting did a fabulous job at creating a beautiful, clean, and informative weather app for the iPhone.

$1.99 - Download Now

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Microsoft has released the first Surface commercial (look up) and pricing information (look down). The commercial is interesting in that it's musical and fun, like an iPod ad, but also focuses on what Microsoft probably perceives to be differentiators against the iPad -- the keyboard, the kickstand, and dancing people in suits (i.e. business users using Office).

John Gruber of Daring Fireball is positive on it:

Surface is an iPad-size tablet with a magnetic keyboard cover and it's fun. That's a pretty good message.

Jim Dalrymple of The Loop not so much:

The Surface ad sucks balls

Early BlackBerry Playbook ads focused on differentiators as well, like smaller size and the ability to run Adobe Flash, as did early Android tablet ads, as well as Tegra2 processors, you know, for the wives. This is better than that. It does lack the power of Apple's original "technology is not enough" iPad 2 ad, and the magic of most of the series of "look what you can do with iPad" commercials that followed, however. It also splits Microsoft's focus, the same way RIM split the PlayBook's focus, between commercial and business users, even if they're dancing in suits.

That's not new for Microsoft, though. Unlike Apple who's recent success has been predicated on not mistaking their products for their business, Microsoft's past success has been all about Windows everywhere. That "no compromises" focus has been a cangue around their neck for years now, only a few interesting products like Xbox and Kinect escaping its gravity.

Which brings us to the convoluted part, and Surface pricing. Apple isn't innocent here, with 2 generations, 2 colors, 3 sizes, and Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + cellular models in several carrier and region specific flavors. It starts at $399 (for now, wait for the mini), then goes up in $100 increments for more storage, with a $130 surcharge for cellular. That's a voluminous, but still a fairly simple product grid.

The Surface seems similar, on the surface (sorry), starting at $499 for more storage but lower resolution, but given it has two keyboards -- flat multitouch and less-flat clickety-clackety type -- and one comes with it but a different color is an additional charge, and the RT (what does that stand for?) version won't be the only one on the market, and it quickly makes my brain bleed slowly.

No compromises is the ultimate compromise -- it's surrendering authorial voice and dumping decisions onto users. Whether it's which keyboard to get, which operating system version to get, which mode to use it in, etc. etc. it's piling indecision on top of indecision, and it's making murky what should be crystal clear.

I've heard both great and terrible things about the Surface, other Windows 8 tablets, and Windows 8 in general. Some seem to love it and see limitless potential and others see it as iOS 6 Maps writ large across an entire operating system and product category. The truth, as usual, likely falls somewhere in between.

Next week the first look at the iPad mini will be followed almost immediately by the second look at the Surface, and the next great stage of the tablet wars, such as they are, will begin. And I don't think Microsoft is really ready. (Where's my Xslate with exclusive Halo 4 and Office Touch?)

The commercial and the pricing, like Windows 8 and the Surface themselves, are audacious yet hobbled, aspiring towards a post-Windows future yet stymied at every turn by the fears and complexities of a regime still shackled to the past.

I hope I'm wrong, I want the Surface to be great. I want Apple and the iPad to have as much competition in tablets as the iPhone has in handsets, but right now the Surface and Windows 8 look to me like the product of lesser angels, the heartbreaking hint of what Microsoft could, but can't do.

We'll find out more next week.

Source: WPCentral