Bill Gates Criticizes the iPad, Says Users Are Left Frustrated

In a recent interview with CNBC, Microsoft founder Bill Gates defended the company's Surface tablets, while downplaying Apple's iPad in the process. Even with (reportedly) mediocre sales, and declining PC interest, Gates said the Surface's features as a tablet/PC hybrid make it the better value over something like the iPad, which he claims leaves users frustrated.

"A lot of those users are frustrated, they can't type, they can't create documents, they don't have Office there," Gates said about the iPad. Maybe so, but the iPad is still the clear winner in the tablet market, continuing to do well in spite of more heated competition—such as the Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD and Surface. Apple managed to sell 19.5 million iPads last quarter alone.

In fact, Apple's iPad does offer the flexibility of document creation—alongside Apple's own suite of apps, you can create music, edit pictures/video and edit documents—and there's no shortage of keyboard accessories. Gates's assessment of the iPad is a little short-sighted, though it's true something such as the Surface Pro, which isn't necessarily an out-and-out iPad competitor, is the more powerful device.

Even if there are some iPad users left frustrated by the device's capabilities, or lack thereof, there are far more who embrace the device than Microsoft's Surface.