Hasta La Gadget!

China Times is reporting that Microsoft is only letting an elite few companies build Windows RT tablets in order to focus its research and development resources. It reportedly asked three chipmakers to pick up to two OEMs to bring inside the tent, with NVIDIA grabbing ASUS and Lenovo, TI snagging Toshiba and Qualcomm selecting Samsung and HP. However, the latter company dropped out of the program to concentrate on x86 machines, so it’s rumored that Dell’s currently jockeying to take its place. The first wave of completed tablets will arrive on October 26th, and Redmond won’t open up the market until January next year — so expect Windows RT to be the buzz-word CES 2013.

Filed under: Tablet PCs, Software

Microsoft to Windows RT OEMs: ‘If your name’s not on the list, you’re not making a tablet’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Jul 2012 03:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft has lately become big on touchscreens — sometimes, really big — which makes it only natural that the company would want to explore Windows 8’s on-screen keyboard in detail. As User Experience team member Kit Knox explains, the company has made an about-face from the days of unceremoniously foisting touch on a desktop OS. Windows 8’s keyboard is not only optimized for fingers, but accommodates the little subtleties that others might miss, like the typical postures for tablet use and our tendencies to frequently hit certain wrong keys. The crew at Redmond ultimately hopes to bring out all the advantages of touchscreen keyboards while reminding us of some creature comforts from old-fashioned physical buttons. The surest way to understand Microsoft’s keyboard research will likely be to pick up a Surface tablet this fall, but those of us who can’t wait to put fingers on real glass can hop over to Knox’s all-encompassing overview at the source link.

Filed under: Tablet PCs

Microsoft delves into Windows 8 touchscreen keyboard design, wants us to be extra-comfy originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Jul 2012 15:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft unveiled two 10.6-inch Surface tablets last month. And while Microsoft’s hardware partners were caught off guard by the announcement, the Redmond-based tech giant is determined to sell millions of Surface tablets by next year. According to ZDNet, who interviewed a dozen of CIOs from different companies in Asia, the Surface tablet could be a viable alternative to Apple’s highly popular iPad tablet. Out of the 12 CIOs interviewed, 7 reportedly favored the Surface tablet while 5 had doubts about its competence when compared to the iPad. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Bill Gates explains why the iPad was successful, Airbus pilots to use iPad apps in flight,

Yesterday, Microsoft confirmed that we’ll be seeing Windows 8 and devices running the operating system this October, but it looks like there’s a chance we won’t see enough Microsoft Surface tablets at launch. According to the folks at DigiTimes (who aren’t always on the dot with their rumors), Microsoft is suffering from low production yields due to the company working with a “second-tier” chassis supplier that has trouble producing enough units to match what Microsoft is expecting.

Apparently the Microsoft Surface’s VaporMg case that is made from Magnesium isn’t easy to produce, and the company wants 5 million Surface units by the end of the year. As usual, Microsoft hasn’t responded to these rumors so we’ll just have to wait and see what happens when the Surface finally arrives. Be sure to check out our first impression of the Microsoft Surface if you’re keen finding out more about this Windows 8 tablet.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Microsoft Surface Tablet First Impressions: Awesome, Windows 8 confirmed for October release,

In an interview with Charlie Rose last night, Microsoft founder Bill Gates explained why the iPad was successful and why his original vision of a tablet PC didn’t do so much. Microsoft had an idea of a tablet PC way back in 2000. In fact, Bill Gates first unveiled the tablet PC concept to a crowd of over 12,000 people at the Computer Dealers’ Exhibition (COMDEX) way back in November 2000. Ten years later, Apple released the iPad, a tablet that sold over 14.8 million units around the world. During the interview, Rose asked Gates, “You thought about a tablet and a touch system way before Steve Jobs?”

Gates’ response was, “Way too early.” But when asked why the iPad was so successful, Gates reportedly replied saying “He [Steve Jobs] did some things better than I did. His timing in terms of when it came out, the engineering work, just the package that was put together. The tablets we had done before, weren’t as thin, they weren’t as attractive as what came along.” Although it was a bitter pill to swallow, Gates retorted that Microsoft’s Windows 8 and its newly launched Surface tablets will be a game changer. “Now Microsoft has something that may change the rules again,” Gates added.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Microsoft co-operative touch pen input mechanism , Microsoft Surface rumored to sell for $599 ,