'Apple iPad rival' Microsoft Surface to be wi-fi only

Software giant Microsoft's new tablet computer, which is expected to be launched in October 2012, will have a shorter battery life than its rival Apple iPad, and will be wifi-only at first, according to a report.

Software giant Microsoft's new tablet computer, which is expected to be launched in October 2012, will have a shorter battery life than its rival Apple iPad, and will be wifi-only at first, according to a report.

According to a Bloomberg report, Microsoft's Surface, announced earlier this week by the firm's chief executive Steve Ballmer, is expected to go on sale without any connection to mobile phone networks as a cost-saving move.

Ben Barjarin, an analyst at Creative Strategies, a US technology consulting firm, said that the decision to launch with a wifi -only model could be to ensure costs are low, but in doing that, Microsoft could restrict how widely the device could be used.

'The way that Microsoft is positioning this product, that it's highly mobile but also has the functionality of a notebook, that customer might be more interested in working from any location and not being bound by Wi-Fi,' The Telegraph quoted Bajarin, as saying.

A separate report by ComputerWorld has claimed that Microsoft's new tablet may not match Apple's iPad on battery life.

It has estimated that Surface battery life span will be seven and a half hours, 25 per cent less than the iPad's current ten hours.