Steven Sinofsky took a few shots at Apple in an interview following the launching of the new Windows 8 operating system Thursday.
In an interview with AllThingsD, the President of Windows explained how Windows 8 can deliver modern computing power at a much more reasonable price than its fruit-themed competitor.
He said that even though Windows 8 devices come at a good price, they don't sacrifice power or sophistication.
He pointed to $279 (UK£173/AU$269) Windows 8 fully-featured laptops, saying "these are fantastic machines."
The devices are far from poorly made and deliver better performance than another, much-hyped brand.
"It's $279," Sinofsky said. "Here we are, talking about seven-inch recreational tablets for $329 (UK£204/AU$317)."
Fighting words
Sinofsky was obviously taking a jab at the newly launched iPad mini. The tiny iPad is about 40 to 50 percent more expensive than most similarly sized tablets.
Blame that new touch-screen tech that makes it so thin and light (or perhaps .
Windows 8 officially went on sale Friday, and its a basket that's holding a lot of eggs for Microsoft.
The new OS is meant to operate on a variety of platforms and is designed to be flexible enough to compete with Apple on desktops, tablets and mobile devices.
But it's a fine line to walk trying to grow an operating system beyond the desktop while still trying to satisfy the millions of existing Windows PC users.
Windows 8 does shake up the PC environment quiet a bit. The metro design is more tile-based instead of relying on graphical icons. It also has a built in app store, and its touch-screens optimized.
Sinofsky said he was very happy with the affordable range of computers produced by companies such as Acer, Lenovo and Dell. He said there are plenty of thin, light touchscreen Ultrabooks that are much better priced than the MacBook Air.
"It's not just discounting," Sinofsky said. "It's engineering work that drives the cost down."
For those longer trips
He also propped up the Windows RT variant. It employs more power-conserving ARM-based processors. Though it can't run older programs, Sinofsky said it's still very appealing to the consumer.
For those who want to run older applications, Sinofsky said Windows 8 PC will run those just fine.
According to the Windows head honcho, the new Microsoft Surface is much more versatile than any iPad. The iPad may be fine for short trips, but the Surface will better get users through longer business excursions.
As Windows 8 and the Surface hit the streets, we'll see if the new OS can compete with Apple on as many fronts as Sinofsky laid out. Apple CEO Tim Cook doesn't think so:
"You could design a car that flies and floats," Cook said on an Apple earnings call Thursday, "but I don't think it would do either of those things very well."
Via AllThingsD
