New 128GB iPad Bytes Microsoft Surface

And it’s a big, big byte. 128GB with a monster $1009 pricetag. Meet Apple’s 4th gen iPad with 128GB storage, revealed today.

It is the most expensive iPad ever, costing $1009 for the WiFi + 3G/4G model.

Apple has sought off the new threat from Microsoft’s Surface 128GB Windows 8 tablet by releasing its own 128GB iPad today, with twice the storage of its largest existing 64GB model.

The surprise release comes as Microsoft recently announced its 128GB Surface tablet with Windows 8 Pro is due to go in sale 9 February in the US for $999.

And unusually for Apple, it has under cut the 10.6″ rival Microsoft Surface by $200 in the US market (Surface 128GB has not been announced for Oz, yet).

But Apple fourth generation iPad with Retina display with 128GB won’t come cheap Down Under, costing $869 for Wi-Fi model and $1009 for the iPad with Wi-Fi + 3G/4G.

It will go on sale next Tuesday, 5 February.

It has the same 4th gen iPad specs: 9.7″ Retina display, A6X chip, FaceTime HD camera and 4G support.

However, Microsoft’s Surface really only allows 83GB of storage as the rest of the memory is consumed by the data heavy Windows 8 OS, reports indicate.

Both rival tabs are aimed at business users and is a defensive move by Cupertino against Surface tablet that is proving popular among enterprise clients fond of the familiar Windows software.

Apple currently holds around 54% of the tablet market, according to IDC estimates, who were quick to reiterate the iPad’s credential for business use in a statement yesterday.

“iPad continues to have a significant impact on business with virtually all of the Fortune 500 and over 85 percent of the Global 500 currently deploying or testing iPad.” (The giant even got Amy Bunszel, vice president of AutoCAD to wax lyrical about how “seamless” the iPad is).

But Apple is right to be defensive as IDC estimates Windows-based tabs will grow 70% by 2016 and account for one in ten tablets sold, at the expense of Apple and Android.

“With more than 120 million iPads sold, it’s clear that customers around the world love their iPads, and every day they are finding more great reasons to work, learn and play on their iPads rather than their old PCs,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Marketing.

“With twice the storage capacity and an unparalleled selection of over 300,000 native iPad apps, enterprises, educators and artists have even more reasons to use iPad for all their business and personal needs.”