Microsoft eyes October Windows 8 launch amid growing competition - Page 3

Originally Posted by MusicComposer

1) Even with an i3 a Windows 8 tablet would be powerful enough to run many legacy programs. I occasionally run Cubase, FL Studio, and Toon Boom Animate on a Core2Duo 2.2ghz and any i3 would destroy that.

2) Yes, the touch interface is the main problem with controlling legacy programs but at least you can plugin a standard USB mouse. Microsoft has improved touch recognition as well so who knows. We'll have to see once they're released.

3) I haven't heard any facts about how long the battery life will be on a Windows 8 tablet. Was there an article about it saying otherwise? I think there would have to be tablets released to make that claim.

4) Well Ultrabooks are already $1,000 with almost the exact same specs as the MacBook Air. If the performance and price is around that then it'd be perfectly fine for me. The whole point is portable computing and with one of these I personally could be more productive than using either an iPad(which I have) or an Android tablet(which I sold). Don't get me wrong though I'm looking at just buying one of the new Ivy Bridge MacBook Airs once they're released. Hopefully next month! I'm merely saying that these will be more popular than people realize and I think they'll eventually surpass Android in the tablet market.

I thought Microsoft was launching with Intel-based tablets? If they're released with Atom processors I'd definitely skip them but an i3 would be pretty nice.

"With the October launch, Microsoft is aiming to lure Christmas Holiday season buyers.

There will be both ARM and Intel-based solutions, just as promised, but initially Intel machines will dominate as there will be more than 40 systems running on Intel architectures and less than 5 running on ARM."

Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum

Interesting...

Why do you think you'll buy apps on a Windows tablet when you wouldn't buy them on an iPad -- likely the function will [should] be similar -- even apps like maps or YouTube that are equally accessible through a browser?

Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum

What do you think the experience with a Windows tablet will be when web sites and app developers begin to serve pages tailored to exploit the iPad's retina display and graphics... and they will?

The bar has been set higher for tablet display resolution -- will you (and others) be satisfied with second best or almost as good?

Originally Posted by MusicComposer

The Metro UI is pretty nice, at least it's original compared to the route Android took.

I like that you can switch to the classic Windows view too if for some reason you hate Metro.

Some people just hate Microsoft, I think people are underestimating how well these will do.

Apple will be approaching 100 million iPads sold by the time these are released but I really predict Windows tablets will be taking the number 2 spot eventually.

Originally Posted by Euphonious

I don't know. But from the path that's being taken with Win8, I do get the impression that MS is taking the tablet market very seriously indeed

Originally Posted by KevinN206

Frankly, I'm not sure if this Retina is worth it from a storage standpoint until price on the 32GB+ models come down.

Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum

I believe you are right -- MS is taking the tablet market very seriously...

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

As Microsoft scrambles to finish its next generation Windows 8 tablet and desktop operating system, some analysts say that the Redmond, Wash., company must launch by October to avoid being overrun by mounting competition from Apple and Google's Android.

Citing sources with inside knowledge of Microsoft's 2012 roadmap, Bloomberg reports that the company is looking to complete Windows 8 by summer and plans to launch the OS on a variety of tablets and PCs before the holiday season in October.

In respect to tablet sales, Gartner Inc. analyst Michael Gartenberg notes that a pre-holiday shipment is necessary for Microsoft to fend off the fierce competition presented by Apple's iOS and Android.

If they miss the September-October time frame, theyre going to be stuck without being able to ship anything in 2012, Gartenberg said. The last thing Microsoft wants to have is a situation where there are no compelling Windows tablets at a time when the new iPad looks like its going to be a good seller for the holidays.


Windows 8 Consumer Preview. | Source: Microsoft


Gartner estimates that over 103 million tablets will be sold in 2012, with the number more than tripling to 326.3 million by 2015. Apple will take a majority of those sales, however growing competition from devices running Google's Android and, to a lesser extent, Microsoft will eat into the iPad's market share.

Since its introduction in 2010, the iPad has enjoyed the lion's share of tablet sales and moved over 15 million units in the last quarter of 2011 alone. At the end of January, the iPad accounted for 58 percent of the market while Android held a 39 percent share. Microsoft came in a distant third with 1.5 percent.

Demand for Apple's tablet has not waned, as the recently-released third-generation iPad sold a record-breaking 3 million units over its launch weekend.

Gartner expects that a flood of Android and Windows devices will dilute the iPad's market share to 46 percent in 2015, however that number is contingent on Microsoft meeting a 2012 Windows 8 launch date.

In addition to over 40 traditional Intel-based machines, Microsoft is looking to rollout devices based on the ARM platform when Windows 8 is eventually released. The number of devices running on ARM chips at launch will be limited to fewer than five, three of which are reported to be tablets.

Although no official date has been set for the Windows 8 rollout, insiders say that Microsoft will be holding a special event for industry partners in April to announce release timing and marketing.

[ View article on AppleInsider ]

Originally Posted by DocNo42

the fact that it still has "windows" in the product name tells you all you need to know.

Originally Posted by timgriff84


...

Do you really think many websites are going to suddenly start supporting high res images though? 90% of the web currently positions everything using pixels rather than em's or points. Unless you can break all those habbits websites are going to stay looking the same.

Originally Posted by eslopes

I think something that is missing in all current, and for that matter near future OSes, is the ability to understand what I'm doing at some point, where am I going to, is hot there? is cold? am I moving fast or slow? what time is it? etc so, if I'm leaving my house early morning, but I'm moving at a relative slow speed, saying at pedester speed, my mobile companion could guess that I'm jogging and ask for permission to start pedometer, jogging music, check my emails etc. If I check the device it would show apps first apps that could be useful for what I'm doing at this moment.

Say that I'm reaching the office, it could check my calendar and emails, maybe warn me about presence of friends around me, and if I check the device, again apps shown should be reorganized around where am I, at what time etc It could even resemble my desktop, if I'm in the office, but make no sense in a lot of other places to show me spreadsheet apps if I'm going to a theater or something. Probably I would like to check restaurants, foursquare-ike apps, nearby friends etc

just my two cents...

Emerson

Originally Posted by Knocks

Windows 8 works extremely well on a desktop. I've only been using the consumer preview for 3 weeks, but have already made it my primary OS and can't imagine going back to Windows 7 or OS X.

Originally Posted by mickeymantle

you're disparaging the 77 Chevy Nova.

Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum

As I understand it, the reason for a public web site is to attract and hold visitors.

Now, it is suggested that there will be 60-100 million new retina iPads sold this year -- one of the fastest growing segments accessing the web.

If I were competing for iPad retina eyeballs, I would design my site to maximize their experience by tailoring pages and controls to the device -- common sense.

Sure I would support other one-size-fits -all resolutions/formats, but I want my site to cater to the large numbers of users, with money to spend -- and who actually spending money -- they bought the iPad.

Further, it is a rather easy target as there is only one screen size, aspect ratio and 2 PPI resolutions.


Don't believe me? Visit http://eweek.com on an iPad -- they have an option on their home page to view and navigate the 1st layer of the site, optimized for touch (kind of an amalgam of iOS and Android). The second layer, the actual stories are one-size-fits-all.

My point is that the tailoring of web sites to a target device has already begun and some one(s) are going to gain viewers by serving pages targeted to the new iPad retina display.

And, I'd be willing to bet that sites like AI are looking at ways to exploit the new iPad retina display -- as I type this!

Originally Posted by hezetation

Ugly car, man was it ever ugly.

Originally Posted by timgriff84

Also still doesn't answer the point of why do you think the iPad will definitely remain having the best screen. I have a lumia 800 and my wife has an iPhone 4, the iPhone certainly has a better resolution but the colours on the Nokia are far better. The iPhone is probably the best screen for showing things in gray, but if you want some colour in you life it's fairly poor in comparison.

The new iPad has a virtually perfect 99 percent of the Standard Color Gamut (a 38 percent improvement over the iPad 2). The colours are beautiful and accurate due to very good factory calibration they are also more vibrant but not excessively so or gaudy like some existing OLED displays, Dr Soneira concluded.

The very accurate colours and picture quality, he adds, mean that the new iPad is likely to be the best quality display you own, unless you happen to own a calibrated professional display. In fact, with just some minor calibration tweaks the new iPad would qualify as a studio reference monitor, Soneira says.

Originally Posted by Euphonious

I don't know. But from the path that's being taken with Win8, I do get the impression that MS is taking the tablet market very seriously indeed and will pump in just about as much cash as it takes. Apple certainly has a head start, but MS has more clout and reputation than the various Android manufacturers and will put up a better fight. Of course, those factors didn't help MS very much with Windows Phone! But perhaps MS is fighting a little closer to its own territory with larger devices.