Windows 7 Takes On iPad... And Holds Its Own?

Plenty gets said about Windows 7 and its suitability for tablets, and despite Steve Ballmer's best efforts not much of it is positive.  But have we all been too harsh on the Microsoft OS?  A side-by-side comparison video pitting a Hanvon slate running Windows 7 agains the iPad running iOS goes some way to suggesting that the desktop OS can hold its own against its Apple counterpart.Video comparison after the cut

The demo runs through browsing, text entry using on-screen keyboards, YouTube access (either via the full site, on the Hanvon slate, or the iPad's dedicated YouTube app), messaging and Google Earth, as well as a few other tasks.  While at first glance you might assume the mobile-centric iPad would easily overshadow its rival, the Hanvon puts in a surprisingly good showing.

Running desktop apps has an impact on usability in some places – Google Earth being one of them, with the iPad version obviously suited to the Apple slate's screen – and the video doesn't drill down into some of the smaller, trickier controls within Windows 7 which might still be better suited to a mouse than a fingertip, but we're still left reasonably impressed.  The Hanvon slate, incidentally, appears to be the BC10C.

[via Redmond Pie]