Microsoft this week revealed the extent to which it is taking lessons from its rival, writes CIARA O'BRIEN

ON MONDAY in Los Angeles, hell froze over.

At least that’s how one analyst described Microsoft’s announcement that it would be producing its own tablet. Other descriptions varied from “totally antithetical to their core business”, and “taking their destiny into their own hands”.

It’s safe to say Microsoft’s unveiling of the Surface tablet caused a bit of a stir.

A few years ago it would have been inconceivable that Microsoft would be playing catch-up to Apple in the technology market. And in some respects, it is still ahead of its Mac rival; there are far more Windows machines in use in the world, for example.

But Apple has slowly managed to claw its way to the top. Last year it became the most valuable company by market cap, and its shares are currently above the $580 mark.

Since it skirted bankruptcy in the late 1990s, Apple has fashioned itself into a premium brand that spawned a lucrative ecosystem, and a successful retail operation to boot.

In recent years it has turned into a fine art the knack of creating a buzz among techies and consumers alike. After tackling the mobile market with the iPhone, Apple even created a whole new category of devices – the tablet, where its iPad reigns supreme.

In comparison, Microsoft may have seemed slightly staid.

Although chief executive Steve Ballmer showed off a Windows tablet device in 2010, before the launch of the iPad, the devices failed to set the market alight. Its Windows Phone software has sparked a bit of interest – Microsoft announced Windows Phone 8 at an event yesterday – but although the operating system has made some gains, it isn’t as much of a threat to Apple and Android as Microsoft may have liked. So maybe it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Microsoft appears to be taking some inspiration from the Apple way of doing business.

Last year the company announced it would open 75 new Microsoft stores over the next three years. So far there are 20 in operation, all in the US.

A casual observer might notice the similarities between the new Microsoft retail outlets and Apple’s. The design; the easily accessible experts instore; the hype. Microsoft store openings in the US last year were greeted by pictures of staff high-fiving customers as they entered, one with the Windows logo shaved into his head. The message was: “We’re exciting.”

And now this week’s announcement that Microsoft is entering the tablet market. The lead-up was cloaked in secrecy, a well-known method of Apple’s.

But it’s more than just a change in marketing. In other areas of Microsoft’s business – PCs, mobile – the tech giant has stayed firmly out of the hardware business, preferring instead to leave it to partners such as Samsung, HP and Dell to come up with the goods. The announcement of the Microsoft branded Surface is a major shift.

Jan Dawson, chief telecoms analyst at Ovum, said Microsoft’s partners should feel a bit slighted by a “huge vote of no-confidence”.

“On the hardware front, what does it say about the tablets Microsoft is seeing from its OEM [original equipment manufacturer] partners as it gets ready to launch Windows 8, that they felt they needed to launch their own tablet? Either they are not happy with the devices out there, or they are not satisfied with only taking a licence fee from selling Windows-based tablets.

“It is rarely a good idea for an OS [operating system] owner to start competing with its OEM partners, and this does not feel like an exception.”

The tablet market could prove crucial. Research firm Gartner said shipments of tablets will almost double to 116 million in 2012, with falling PC shipments predicted for the same period.

Microsoft is selling the devices only in its own stores, however, and online, perhaps as a way of pacifying partners who may be feeling jittery at the prospect of further competition.

Ben Bajarin, an analyst at technology consulting firm Creative Strategies, suggested Microsoft may have wanted to show the industry what it thinks is a good implementation of its tablet ambitions.

“A lot of their traditional partners have not really been focused on the tablet market, and were planning early on to go after new designs for traditional notebooks and desktops,” he said. “This is an effort to drive the category in the right direction.”

How successful it will be is anyone’s guess. Microsoft’s previous efforts at making hardware have been mixed. While the Xbox has performed well in the games market, the Zune music player – once seen as an iPod killer – has been shelved.

Forrester Research’s Sarah Rotman Epps said the Surface tablets must offer software that stands out if Microsoft is to differentiate itself from the iPad.

“What they didn’t show were Kinect, SmartGlass and other software assets that could be key differentiators against the iPad,” she said.

The fact there are two types of tablet – a version for x86 chips from Intel running Windows 8 and for ones based on ARM technology, with Windows RT – is also going to be an interesting choice for consumers.

“In theory, it delivers all the benefits of both the tablet- optimised environment and the classic desktop approach and apps, but in reality the versions available to try at the moment are a horrible mishmash of the two worlds that is likely to be confusing for the consumer,” Ovum’s Dawson said.

Price could be the deciding factor. Microsoft said the Surface price will be “competitive” with a comparable ARM tablet or Intel Ultrabook PC. That difference brings its own issue; unlike Apple’s core market, the Surface’s customer base will already be fragmented.

What is clear is that Microsoft will have to wow consumers.

MICROSOFT SYSTEMS: WINDOWS PHONE 8 ROLLED OUT

IT WAS the week for announcements from Microsoft. At a separate Windows Phone Summit, the company showed off the latest version of its mobile software, Windows Phone 8.

The mobile platform will use the same core software as Windows 8, and will allow for a wider variety of phone models and prices. Microsoft also opened the door to higher resolution screens and systems with dual-core chips.

The new software will also support near-field communications, which will turn phones into a digital wallet, allowing consumers to make payments and to store coupons and other vouchers.

For the enterprise market, there are new tools for system administrators to manage devices, as well as encryption and secure booting. Visually, Windows Phone 8 also differentiates itself from its predecessor with a new home screen.

But sadly, if you have already invested in a Windows Phone 7 device, you won’t be able to upgrade it to the new software.