So that makes this deceitful ad by Microsoft okay?
It doesn't even say that the ASUS tablet is worse or that the iPad is better. This is possibly the least sensationalist article I've ever seen that mentions both Apple and Microsoft.
So they are trying to create favorable image of their product, but they are not lying more than a price of $9.99 is lying by pretending to be way below $10.00.
A longer diagonal does not imply a larger screen with variant aspect ratios. To compare two screens based on their diagonal is fine if they have the same aspect ratio and I have no problem with ads doing just that, but this here is utterly unacceptable. There is no weaseling out of this. You cannot redefine screen size as diagonal length, that makes no sense with variant aspect ratios.
I’m also not really aware of such brain-dead comparisons being widespread in ads and official documents. Sure, it’s an easy enough mistake for consumers to make (especially since the diagonal is used so often in ads, even if not in comparisons), but if companies make that mistake, than that’s stepping over the line. By a mile.
There is nothing acceptable about this. Nothing at all.
(I can believe that this was a honest mistake, some intern screwed up or something. Shit happens. As I said, it’s easy to assume that the diagonal tells the whole story. So I would definitely not jump to the conclusion that this is some evil plot – but I cannot fathom how anyone can honestly belief that this is somehow defensible and might be in any way acceptable if it were not a honest mistake but intentional.)
So by giving the two numbers 9.7" and 10.1" they gave away all information consumers will look at. What are the alternatives? Not giving the numbers? Not good, consumers want to know display sizes. Adding the aspect ratios 4:3 and 16:9? Nobody cares to calculate what that implies. They could have left out the sentence saying that the 10.1" display is larger, but every consumer reading 10.1" and 9.7" already decided on their own that 10.1" is bigger.
So yes, this is not scientifically accurate, but good enough for consumers. And the few percent that care about 10 cm² more or less and resolutions or pixel densities - both not given in the add - are able to figure out the details on their own.
Where are the ads that actually call a screen that is not actually larger larger based on its diagonal? Most companies do not dare to step over that line. Because it’s wrong and all kinds of fucked up. Oh, sure, they might call a screen that is actually larger (but not quite as much larger as its diagonal might imply) larger and present the diagonal in big letters. But calling something that isn’t larger larger? WTF?
I’m sure consumers are often confused – but not because companies are actively calling something larger that actually isn’t.
I think you are very confused about what’s happing here and you seem to have serious issues separating consumer misunderstanding and companies lying. One is sad, the other is evil and has to be called out. And loudly. There is no weaseling out of this. This isn’t even a tiny little bit ok maybe if you squint. This just is not ok. (But, again, I’m not sure there is any intent here. Maybe it was just a stupid mistake.)
What do you suggest, how should the add be modified? As stated above, just omitting the statement makes no difference, the customers will just conclude that the 10.1" display is the larger one. Should they add something like »Our tablet has a larger display diagonal but due to the different aspect ratios the display area is actually a 3.5 % smaller«? Leave out the display sizes in the first place?
So in my opinion leaving out the statement makes you not really that much more honest because the numbers just imply the statement for consumers. You have moved from saying something wrong (if you insist that display size is has always to be interpreted as display area and not diagonal length) to not telling the whole truth and letting the consumer make a wrong conclusion. Omitting the display sizes is not really an option. What remains is requiring them to add statements to the add that explicitly name weaknesses of the product and this is completely against the purpose of an add.
I have another idea - rewrite the statement to read »[...] has a larger display diagonal than [...]« instead of »[...] has a larger display than [...]«. What will consumers read? Of course, »has a larger display«. Now it is a true statement but still misleading.