March 12, 2012

How Windows 8 Tablets Could Seriously Challenge the iPad

Microsoft has a lot riding on this launch of a new operating system. They'll need strong hardware manufacturers to adopt Windows 8 to create a compelling alternative to the new iPad. I think I'll wait for the new Win8 tablets.


I truly like the desktop PC experience, but for traveling and RVing, a new tablet would be handy. I'd want to be able to connect to a projector. Hopefully the new Win8 hardware will have appropriate I/O ports.


Meanwhile, I'm very pleased with my Amazon Kindle Fire and my smartphone for those times when I'm not chained to my desktop.

.."Could the tablet market’s dark horse be a Windows 8 device? It’s possible, but it hinges entirely on how consumers respond to the new user interface, Metro.
The thrust of Windows 8 — and why it’s such a big gamble my[sic] Microsoft — is that it brings the same UI to tablets and traditional PCs (desktops and laptops). Metro is ideally suited for touchscreens, but it works with a mouse and keyboard, too. (Here’s a full breakdown of Windows 8.)
There’s a reason Microsoft has done this, and it’s not really the spirit of bringing tablet features to your laptop. Quite the opposite, in fact.
In order to have any hope of succeeding in tablets, Microsoft has to convince its army of Windows developers to make software for those tablets. [emphasis added] But no one’s going to develop software for an unproven OS where the company has seen little commercial success (no current Windows tablet has significant market share)..."
"...Microsoft needs to get Metro 100% right if Windows 8 tablets are going to have any hope. If users like Metro, then the developers will follow, and a real ecosystem will emerge. If not, the iPad will probably be the only tablet worth talking about for a long, long time. "


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