In Pictures: App wars - Windows 8 Metro vs. the iPad

Microsoft's Metro environment in Windows 8 and Windows RT takes the iPad approach to apps, but is it better?

Entertainment media: Metro loses

Microsoft is trying to copy the Apple iTunes Store with its Xbox Music and Xbox Video stores, and their corresponding Music and Videos apps. There is no e-book app (or store), though you can use apps like Amazon.com's Kindle.

Metro's media focus is so heavily on buying content from Microsoft that your own media libraries get buried. By default, they’re shunted off screen, requiring you to scroll left to find them.

Without the equivalent of iTunes on your computer to manage your media files, Metro doesn't easily serve as your entertainment library. Yes, you can manually copy music and video files to the My Music and My Videos libraries in Windows 8, but that's a big barrier to use. And there's no AirPlay streaming equivalent.

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