Apr 3, 2015 By David Singer 3 min read

Unlike the crazed mob that descends on Apple announcement events, Microsoft has little buzz surrounding its newest iPad competitor. On May 5, Microsoft will start shipping its new tablet, the Surface 3, but it seems Apple’s half-decade-long marketing dominance may be proving a challenge for the $499 piece of hardware.

Microsoft paid the NFL $400 million in 2014 to use then-current versions of the Surface tablet, but with announcers initially calling them iPads on-air, they forfeited brand exposure to a competitor. Company representatives said they could not provide examples of any Surface 3 pre-order deals in the South Hills through vendors or their own distribution.

NASCAR and Royal Caribbean have agreed to purchase or lease thousands of Surface tablets, according to Microsoft officials, and locally, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center agreed to purchase 2,000 units of the Surface Pro 3 (a previous version) in 2014 because iPads would not work well with legacy systems and cross-network technology.

“We tried to develop our (own app) on iPads, and it just wouldn’t work … doctors balked when told they would have to use the iPad app (for records) as ‘read only,’ and wouldn’t be able to update it,” said UPMC Tech Development Center President Rebecca Kaul.

The 10.8-inch display has shrunk from the previous version’s 12 inches, and now allows multiple applications to run (unlike iPads) and does so on a version of the Windows 8.1 desktop operating system. With a physical soft keyboard that acts also as a protective cover, Microsoft designed a tablet for laptop and tablet users looking to get the best of both worlds. It has a kickstand, front and rear-facing cameras and can connect to many peripherals using USB 3.0 technology.

St. Clair Hospital uses a mix of tablet technology, including nearly two dozen iPads and “a handful of units” of the Surface 3 Pro, according to chief information officer Richard Schaeffer.

“We’re in a continuous cycle of upgrade, which for us means we won’t jump right into the newest models. We have to match and test the hardware to each and every application we use to collect patient data to make sure it works,” he said.

The mix of technology approach is also employed in the South Fayette School District, one of the 50 districts in the League of Innovative Schools, whose members demonstrate unique and effective integration of technology in education. As the district gets an iPad in the hands of every student in grades 1-2, assistant superintendent Dr. Michael Loughead said the district opted for Windows-based tablets for other grades, but ones not purchased through Microsoft.

“Our students in grades 3-8 do work in coding and computation, so we needed something with more power … tablets are great for consumption, but to do this high-end work, we needed the computing power of a laptop,” he said.

The district opted for 1,600 HP EliteBook Revolve tablet-laptop hybrids, which use touch-screen technology and physical keyboards – and operate on Windows 8.1 – but the software isn’t housed in Microsoft’s own hardware.

“When we were exploring the Surface models at the time, we had concerns with (detachable keyboard docks),” Loughead said.

Other districts, like Upper St. Clair, use iPads in the classroom, but most educational institutions aren’t opting for Microsoft’s own hardware-software combo; if Windows is used, it’s likely to be inside a third-party hardware product. Despite the slow reception, Microsoft officials touted the Surface 3 as superior to the iPad Air 2. They said it has a faster processor, more ports for printers and accessories, runs multiple applications at the same time and allows stylus input on every application.