There was quite the humorous dig at Microsoft during a recent NFL game between New England Patriots and Denver Broncos, which left the former team with little to no play information due to their Surface tablets ceasing to function as expected. While many attributed the issues with Microsoft's tablets themselves, it was later confirmed to be down to network trouble.
As covered by The Guardian:
"CBS touchline reporter Evan Washburn said at the time that "on the last defensive possession the Patriots' coaches did not have access to those tablets to show pictures to their players. NFL officials have been working at it. Some of those tablets are back in use, but not all of them. A lot of frustration that they didn't have them on that last possession."
Unfortunately for the New England Patriots squad, Surfaces deployed by Denver Broncos continued to work throughout the match, enabling them to take full advantage of processing power and win the game. Microsoft later fired out a statement to clear up any confusion surrounding exactly what went wrong:
"Our team on the field confirmed the issue was not related to the tablets themselves but rather an issue with the network. We worked with our partners who manage the network to ensure the issue was resolved quickly."
So do calm down, Apple fans. If it were indeed down to networking problems, we doubt the iPad would have fared much better, but it's still a massive blow to Microsoft and its costly product placement.
Source: The Guardian
