Windows 8 Tablet Prototypes: 5,000 Samsung Devices Given To Eager Developers

By Bill Rigby

ANAHEIM, California (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp handed out 5,000 sleek Samsung tablet computers running a test version of Windows 8 at its annual developer conference on Tuesday, hoping to stoke excitement over its new operating system.

The devices, powered by Intel Corp i5 chips, are the first chance for people outside Microsoft to play with Windows 8, the temporary code name for its next software system that includes features tailored for touchscreens and tablets. The company is betting the new system will stem the tide of consumers switching to Apple Inc's iPad.

Microsoft, whose software still runs more than 90 percent of personal computers, needs the new system to appeal to developers in the hope that they will create thousands of applications to attract users.

At the same time, it needs to lure a younger, tech-savvy audience and halt the march of Apple devices into Microsoft's business market, analysts said.

"Kids today are seeing more Apple logos than Microsoft logos, and Microsoft needs to change that if they are going to continue being the force that they have been," said Michael Silver, an analyst at tech research firm Gartner, who was attending the developer conference.

"If you look at where Apple is successful, it's from consumers who have more power to bring in what they use at home to the business," Silver said. "That's important for Microsoft to go after, to get this fixed."

Tablet makers are expected to start selling products with Windows 8 by the middle of next year at the earliest.

The giant U.S. software company also hopes to woo an applications development community that has already taken to Google's Android and Apple, by making the process of building apps in a variety of computer languages simpler.

Developers worldwide can download a preview of Windows 8 from Microsoft beginning Tuesday evening (at dev.windows.com ).

FAST AND SLICK

The new system boots up in seconds and features a home page filled with colorful tiles taking the user directly into applications such as Facebook, messaging or news feeds.

Rebuilt from the ground up, Windows 8 uses less memory to run than Windows 7, freeing up space for apps. The test Samsung device, using Internet Explorer 10 as its browser, worked smoothly, although some of the demonstrations on stage at the conference did not work perfectly.

"Clearly this is pre-beta, but all things considered, I was impressed with the speed and responsiveness of the user interface and also the IE 10 browser," said Al Hilwa, an analyst at tech research firm IDC, who tried out the Samsung tablet.

Windows 8 is less likely to appeal to business users, analysts said, given that many companies are still working their way toward switching to Windows 7, released in 2009.

Microsoft has sold almost 450 million Windows 7 licenses in two years since it was introduced, but the newest version still accounts for less than one-third of global Windows users, many of whom are clinging to older versions.

The new system is the first to be compatible with low-power chips designed by ARM Holdings, which have become the standard for mobile devices.

Windows unit chief Steven Sinofsky stressed the new operating system is the first to focus on applications -- it will contain an online app store for the first time -- reflecting the way people now use computers, tablets and smartphones.

He said tablets running Windows 8 will be able to connect easily to printers, cameras and other devices. Windows 8 will also work on PCs with regular mouse and keyboard commands. Thin new laptops by Acer, Asustek and Toshiba featured in presentations at the conference.

Sinofsky -- who called the free tablet distributed at the conference "not an iPad" -- emphasized it was a development machine only, and will not appear in stores. It features about 30 different apps written over the summer by Microsoft interns.

Analysts said Microsoft wants to get Windows 8 devices in stores for the "back-to-school" season next year, starting around July, or the holiday shopping season at the latest.

Microsoft itself has not set a schedule publicly for release of Windows 8, with Sinofsky saying on Tuesday the process would be "driven by quality, not by a date."

Microsoft shares closed up 0.6 percent at $26.04 in a generally higher market.

(Reporting by Bill Rigby; Editing by Derek Caney, Maureen Bavdek and Tim Dobbyn)

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions

Comments

[Kyle Noe]

02:12 AM on 09/15/2011

FINALLY, Microsoft is starting to understand the most basic principles of UI design - useful, simple, intuitive. For the first time, Apple should start to worry.

And if this tablet has a dock for an optical drive, etc. I'll definitely be getting it instead of an iPad. (I refuse to get a tablet until there's a decent one that runs a real OS, not that mobile crap.)

[NerdyStudent]

12:25 AM on 09/15/2011

Oh goodness, who ever said that the hardware was important? Especially on a tablet...unless its one of the new quad core tablets...

[first last2]

04:34 PM on 09/14/2011

watch the unboxing here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKXX1WqDAIs

[drp103]

04:20 PM on 09/14/2011

Amazon Tablet will run Android. Right?

[Anthony Dodd]

04:13 PM on 09/14/2011

The more I watch these videos, the more I see there's NOTHING MORE AWKWARD than that snapping between actual Windows and the iTiles. It's gawd-AWFUL.

[jgeurian21]

04:26 PM on 09/14/2011

If you downloaded the developers build you will see that it is quite easy.

[Anthony Dodd]

10:35 PM on 09/14/2011

Now now... I'm being shown a perfectly understandable presentation. I see how they pull one world out of a void from the left into a different world front and center. It's not intuitive or elegant, and unless the developers build changes that -- yuck.

[JosephTX]

01:35 PM on 09/14/2011

I'm extremely impressed with Windows 8. It's a full OS and shouldn't even be compared with mini-OS's like iOS or Android. People's fascination with shiny toy-tablets seems to be fading now that the gimmick's worn itself out, and Windows 8 tablets are the first that I can actually use as an excuse for buying a tablet.

For those who STILL don't know, Windows 8 will have 2 different interfaces: the Metro UI, which is what tends to be in the headline pictures (the touch-friendly one) and a classic Windows 7-looking UI for laptops and desktops. So stop complaining about how this is forgetting desktop users.

[NHBill]

01:51 PM on 09/14/2011

"People's fascinatio­n with shiny toy-tablet­s seems to be fading now that the gimmick's worn itself out"

Wha?

Apple for one can't make them fast enough.

MS developed tablet PC's and no one bought them because they just used a laptop for that kind of work.

The simplicity of the post pc tablet is what is so appealing.

If people need a full os on a portable machine they will just use a laptop.

[jgeurian21]

04:04 PM on 09/14/2011

I would disagree 100%. The problem wasn't software; it was the lack of good hardware. Today the tablet hardware to run Windows is much, much lower and with Windows 8, made for tablets. It actually looks like MS was right all along. Instead of 2 OSs just have 1. Even Apple seems to be following this with Lion.

[JosephTX]

04:17 PM on 09/14/2011

The portability (and shiny cases) of tablets is what's appealing. Desktop OS's are already simple to use. the Metro UI also has that "simplicity" that tablets have, but it still has a full OS instead of something that can only run one application at a time. with minimal customization. You really think people will choose a tablet that makes them switch between checking Facebook and writing something (or any other activity), when Windows 8 tablets will allow them to do more than 1 thing at the same time?

Just watch. Apple's going to make their own "innovative" tablet that will basically just run OS X, since nobody will choose an oversized iPod Touch over an actual computer.

[Sunzuki]

03:34 PM on 09/14/2011

Completely agree, this is such an innovative OS. Credit where credit is due, the thing sounds amazing and looks amazing. It's a truely next-generation operating system, this plus Windows Phone shows that Microsoft are back in the game in a major way.

[javajava]

12:23 PM on 09/14/2011

There are developement builds for the download for all comers. I will install on a laptop and give it a look.

I am curious too.

[DRaymond]

12:17 PM on 09/14/2011

I think that when actually used as a tablet Windows 8 will be a great experience.  For this demo they had to stand back to let the camera see but when really using it in your hands all those sweeps from the side would be right under your thumbs, and you will note that every time he swept from his side with his thumb instead of his fingertip it worked perfectly.

I am still trying to work through the implications on laptop and desktop design.  using a touch screen is fatiguing on a laptop or desktop.  On laptops I am seeing LARGE touchpads being the future path of laptop designs.  For desktops the mouse may well be replaced by either a large separate touch pad or perhaps a small Wacom type tablet and stylus.

Or perhaps the next form factor at the high end will be the desktop that is your desktop.  Imagine a 24 or so inch touchscreen monitor laid horizontally and used like a stationary tablet.

[NHBill]

01:34 PM on 09/14/2011

You can stop by any Apple store and try it out.
They included all the iPad gestures in their new OS 10.7 Lion.
They sell the outrageously overpriced ($69) "magic trackpad" as an alternative to the mouse.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC380
I think that this will be an issue in years to come more than now.
Some kids are already growing up using only gestures instead of a mouse.

[Anthony Dodd]

04:11 PM on 09/14/2011

You haven't lived until you tap two fingers down anywhere on a touchpad to get a right click menu. It's scary intuitive.

Overpriced? 69?!? Are you kidding?!? It's absolutely, positively --

-- overpriced.

;-)

[Bradson]

04:35 PM on 09/14/2011

I've been using a Wacom tablet for several years instead of a traditional mouse. As a graphic artist, the pen is a necessity, but the mouse that comes with the tablet is dramatically more accurate and responsive than a traditional mouse. Wacom now makes tablets that also are touch responsive, so it's easy to see this as a viable solution for any PC user who wants to keep their fingers off the monitor and have the options of precise pen, responsive mouse or touch control all via one device.

I also like your point about a horizontal monitor. Again, Wacom makes them (I don't work for them, by the way) but they are pricey and designed for artwork. Maybe standard monitor stands will soon include tilt adjustments up to (down to) full horizontal.

[mairs]

11:51 AM on 09/14/2011

I think it would be exciting to have real Windows on a tablet, instead of a scaled-up phone OS. I'm really tired of having to deal with "mobile" banking, the "mobile" version of my online email, etc.

[javajava]

12:24 PM on 09/14/2011

HP's app sucks eggs too.

[Fernando Galvez]

01:09 PM on 09/14/2011

It has been around since the early 2000's. I have an HP TC1100 circa 2003 running full XP Tablet Edition, no phone OS here. All these iPads and Android tablets can't do half of what I'm capable of doing with my Jurassic era machine, starting with the ability to use an external USB DVD drive. Granted, using a Wacom stylus really lowers the "cool factor", but.....

[mairs]

02:18 PM on 09/14/2011

I had a "Pocket PC" phone with a slide out keyboard. It ran Windows, using a stylus, and that was several years ago. Sounds similar to yours. I don't know the model number of mine. I liked using the stylus. Much easier to cut and paste websites, sentences.

[NHBill]

02:20 PM on 09/14/2011

Who uses DVD's?

I haven't touched one in years.

[uSellAlexandra]

10:53 AM on 09/14/2011

After reading this article, I am excited about the Windows 8. Actually, it is the first Microsoft product that has caught my attention in a long time. Too bad we have to wait a whole year!(

[NHBill]

10:35 AM on 09/14/2011

Too Much, Too Late.

Tablet market is sailing on without MS.

[Cael]

11:09 AM on 09/14/2011

Is it? I think only Apple tablets are really selling, or is Android tablets doing better?

[NHBill]

01:55 PM on 09/14/2011

as of this morning Apple has 68% market share.
Just about all of the rest is Android.

[Angelus2007]

11:37 AM on 09/14/2011

Only really the iPad, but the think MS is doing, is making the Tablet software the same as for a home PC. Making it more powerful than just an iPad. That could help them as more and more businesses use tablets.

[mairs]

12:24 PM on 09/14/2011

Now that would be a breakthrough if it will be like a PC version of the OS instead of a mobile phone version.

[NHBill]

01:19 PM on 09/14/2011

If you want the same thing as your home PC why wouldn't you use a laptop?

[frank day]

10:13 AM on 09/14/2011

5,000 is only a few????

[GoogleFacebookiPhone]

09:31 AM on 09/14/2011

I requested to Microsoft to provide me the prototypes but they rejected my request. Very sad. Now I am lurking here to read about the development.huh
----------------------------------------------------------------
Majid Ali
http://googlefacebookiphone.blogspot.com

[Cael]

09:23 AM on 09/14/2011

I think having a clear and easy connection between windows 8 on the pc and on the tablet will be very important. I am not sure if that is there with Ipad and macs, probably is, but its something this will have over Android.

Too bad its not till next year, I want a tablet now. Any tablet

[bryanzth]

10:17 AM on 09/14/2011

HP Tablets are cheap! ;0)

BZ.

[Cael]

11:09 AM on 09/14/2011

I can't get one, I tried.