Apple’s Tim Cook Roasts Microsoft’s Surface

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is clearly not shy of taking potshots at rivals. Asked by an analyst during the company’s post-earnings conference call to comment on the launch of Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) new Surface tablet, Apple chief executive Tim Cook said the reviews he read about the device had described it as “compromised” and “confusing.”

“I haven’t personally played with the Surface yet, but what we’re reading about it is that it’s a fairly compromised, confusing product,” Cook said.

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Those words had been used by Wired’s Mathew Honan, who described it as “a tablet of both compromises and confusion.” CNN’s Harry McCracken wrote that working with the Surface’s Office apps “feels like an exercise in compromise.”

Cook added that Apple had managed to find the balance between engineering and design with the iPad. “With the iPad the user experience is absolutely incredible. I suppose you could design a car that flies and floats, but I don’t think it would do all of those things very well, and so I think when people look at the iPad versus competitive offerings they are going to conclude, they really want an iPad.”

The Apple chief also defended the iPad mini’s starting price of $329, which is higher than the $199 Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Kindle Fire HD and the Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Nexus 7.  “We try to create a product that people will love for months and years after they’ve purchased it. That’s what the iPad mini is designed to do,” Cook said.

At the launch of the smaller iPad earlier this week, Apple had put its new tablet side-by-side with Nexus 7 in an attempt to compare the various features and specifications of the two devices.

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