There hasn't been much news about the iPad after the iPhone 6 reveal last September 9 but there are rumors about the new iPad Air.

Two major tablets are contending for the wallets of budget-conscious consumers: iPad Mini Retina and Microsoft Surface Pro 2.

Microsoft's Surface Pro 2 is available for about US$800. It features a 10.6 inch TFT 1920 x 1080 resolution screen, 5-point multitouch and built into a 9 mm thick body.

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It has stereo speakers, along with 5 megapixel 2592 x 1936 rear camera with autofocus and 3.5 megapixel front camera.

Surface Pro 2 also features LED flash and geo-tagging.

It's powered by an Intel i5 processor. The tablet has 8GB or 4GB RAM and 512 GB/256 GB/64 GB/32 GB internal storage.

Aside from Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, an accelerometer, gyro and compass are also included.

Surface Pro 2 runs Windows 8 Professional.

This tablet, however, has no SIM card slot and 3G and 4G capabilities. It only relies on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

On the other hand, the iPad Mini 2 with Retina display costs US$400 with nanoSIM card slot. It has 3G and 4G capabilities.

Its 7.9-inch display has a 1536 x 2048 resolution and is protected by an oleophobic coating. It has a stereo speakers built into a 7.5 mm thick, lightweight body.

Compared to Surface Pro 2, this tablet is much lighter and thinner.

The rear camera has face detection with its 5 megapixel capability.The front camera is 1.2 megapixels. It also has FaceTime, geo-tagging, touch focus and HDR.

It's powered by Apple's dual-core A7 chipset with PowerVR G6430. The iPad Mini 2 with Retina display has 1 GB of RAM and buyers can select from 13, 32, 64 or 128 GB internal storage with microSD slot available.

Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, an accelerometer, gyroscope and compass are all present. It runs iOS 7.1.2 out of the box, upgradable to iOS 8..

If users are more familiar with iOS and the Apple ecosystem, they should choose the iPad Mini 2 with Retina display along with its navigation tool, social media enabler, internet browser, camera and gaming tool, even for office purposes.

But if users prefer an even more portable version of a laptop that can support all the applications and features from the desktop Windows OS, then Microsoft Surface Pro 2 is recommended for them.

TagsiPad Mini 2 Retina, Microsoft Surface Pro 2