It's an Apple and Microsoft tablet war now

The most interesting thing about the new iPad launch in San Diego isn't Apple Store, or people waiting in line there. It's the Microsoft Store down the way. In a brilliant, if overly optimistic, marketing move, the shop opened at 7 am PDT, one hour before Apple Store. The move was perhaps symbolic given the line waiting to buy new iPad, but nevertheless foreshadows competition to come. If you've been off-planet or other-dimension and missed the news, Apple's newest tablet is on sale today in 10 countries.

Two employees set up under a small canopy outside Microsoft Store, showing off tablets running Windows 8 Consumer Preview. New iPad has big resolution on a small screen, but Windows 8 wows more. The OS is fast and fluid -- alive! It's like a living thing. Many BetaNews readers are sour on Metro, but I'm a big fan. The motif is a leap forward in user interface design, while iOS is oh-so been there, done that.

Microsoft marketing for Vista used "Wow" as expression of surprise and delight. That's exactly the reaction Windows 8 generates -- well, on a tablet at least. You gotta utter "Wow". The only wow down the way at Apple Store: The short line waiting to buy new iPad. By the unofficial count, I was No. 121 at 7:35 am PT -- few compared to the hundreds more waiting for iPad 2 a year ago or the many thousands for iPhone 4 in June 2010. Perhaps Apple launches are now passé, or smart people preorder instead. When the doors opened, the number reached 130, and Apple employees had it cleared by 8:30 am.

What surprised me: The seemingly different character of the people waiting. It was a reversion of sorts, in the scariest way. I covered the original iPhone launch, in June 2007, outside Apple Store Montgomery Mall, in Bethesda, Md. What surprised me then: Diversity of the people waiting. Few were geeks at all, and most weren't die-hard Apple fans. Buyers represented a real cross-section of America. I could say the same about the iPhone 4 and iPad 2 launches and a little less iPhone 4S. But this new iPad crowd looked like an Apple Fanclub -- diehards from the era before Apple reached mass-market popularity.

They were so stereotypical, I repeatedly looked around for film crews. This bunch could have been pulled straight from one of Samsung's TV commercials mocking people who wait hours on end to buy the newest Apple thing. Perhaps everyone else was smart enough to preorder. The people in the front of the line waited from about 11 pm PT last night -- no time for Apple hardcores, or compared to earlier iPhone launches.

Microsoft is right to show off Windows 8 on tablets -- to anyone and everyone who will look. If the crowd I saw outside Apple Store is any indication, then anybody is a whole lot of somebodies. I tweeted this morning: "Love it! Smart competition. Microsoft Store here in San Diego opened at 7 -- one hour before Apple Store. It's Windows 8 vs iPad!" Gartner analyst Michael Gartenberg replied: "Except I can't buy Windows 8". He's right about that, but you can download the Consumer Preview to your tablet today. For free.

Still, Apple has a compelling tablet available to buy right now, while Windows 8 slates are holiday debuts at best. Current Windows 7 tablets can run its successor right now. But the compelling hardware, like the Samsung Series 7 demoed outside Microsoft Store this morning, is pricey -- around $1,300, or about $470 more than the costliest iPad (64GB WiFi/4G model). Then there's new iPad's display, which resolution and pixel density outclasses every Windows slate currently available.

Gartenberg claims the "Retina display is a major game changer. Wow". There's that "Wow" again. I agree; 2048 x 1536 resolution makes new iPad a transformative product. Apple will sell many tens of millions before the first Microsoft OEM assembles the first Windows 8 slate on the production line.

It's war, and you are the territory. Judging by the early-store opening this morning, Microsoft is ready to fight -- for mindshare now and market share later. Sigh. If only Microsoft would release its own, branded tablet.

The winner, if there is one, doesn't matter. Fierce competition means better products for you.

Photo Credit: Joe Wilcox