CNN commentators use Microsoft Surface tablet as a stand for iPads

Microsoft's Surface tablets can't seem to catch a break. First came the NFL blunders, when Fox commentators, ESPN announcers and local television stations confused the Surface devices for Apple's iPads.

Now, it seems, some CNN commentators have found a different use for the $799 Surface Pro 3 tablets: as stand for its competitor. During Tuesday night's coverage of the midterm elections, some panelists used the Surface to prop up their iPads, or ignored the Surface altogether to stare at another tablet on their desk.

Some, like Anderson Cooper, did use Microsoft's gadget.

CNN received the Surface tablets as part of an election 2014 partnership with Microsoft, which also included an updated "magic wall" used by reporters.

Mixups over the Surface began during the first week of the NFL season, after Fox commentator John Lynch said New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees was "not watching movies on his iPad" during a game. He later said players had "iPad-like tools."

But the Surface, not the iPad, is "the official tablet of the NFL."

The gaffes underscore the Herculean challenge many tech companies face in a market dominated by iPhones and iPads.

CNN commentators using Microsoft @surface tablets as iPad stand. Facepalm. pic.twitter.com/BPxWTf2zhI

— Adam (@adamUCF) November 5, 2014

Apple is the top tablet maker globally, followed by Samsung and ASUS, according to research firm IDC. Overall tablet shipments grew 11.5 percent worldwide, the firm said, thanks to back-to-school promotions and heightened demand in the U.S.

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