Hasta La Gadget!

A lot of manufacturers are excited to get in on the Windows Phone 8 action, and it seems that ZTE has decided it wants a slice of that pie. The company is teasing a new Windows Phone 8 handset through some rather unconventional means, with ZTE marketing strategy manager Dennis Lui sharing a very blurry image of three different devices on his Sina Wiebo account (as reported by Winp.cn). Have a look at the picture below.

The device on the right is the only one that see clearly (or at least semi-clearly in this case), and it’s easy to see why: it looks an awful lot like a ZTE Tania, and even though it appears to be running Windows Phone 8, in reality it’s probably running the Windows Phone 8 simulator app that’s available on the Marketplace. The other phones are a little harder to place thanks to the liberal use of blurring, but the one on the left could be legitimately running Windows Phone 8, with the one in the middle running some version of Windows Phone 7.

This suggests that not only does ZTE have a Windows Phone 8 device in the works, but that it will also continue to offer Windows Phone 7.x handsets – the device in the image is presumably a Windows Phone 7.8 device – after the launch of WP8. Things get even more interesting though, as Lui also shared an image of a tablet running Windows RT or Windows 8, so it looks like ZTE has a lot in store for the future.

ZTE traditionally makes budget devices, and with many of the big companies eager to show us their snazzy new Windows 8 tablets, laptops, and smartphones, ZTE may be able to squeeze in there and bring Windows Phone 8 and Windows RT to the budget-minded consumer. ZTE obviously sees an opportunity there, and this strange marketing strategy sure has garnered some attention. Stay tuned for more details, as it probably won’t be much longer before ZTE clarifies a few things (pun was definitely intended there).

[via WMPoweruser]

ZTE teases Windows Phone 8 handset in very blurry photo is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

With all of this exciting talk about incoming Windows 8 tablets, it’s easy for a detail or two to get lost in the crowd. Once such detail that has been generally missing from announcements and previews is pricing. We’ve seen what these new tablets can do, but it seems that most manufacturers aren’t ready to talk about pricing just yet.

The prices for three incoming ASUS Windows 8 tablets have been leaked today, as part of the company’s holiday roadmap. As you can see from the image above, which was secured by the folks at ZDNet, the prices are pretty high, with the ASUS Vivo Tab RT coming in at $599. Its big brother, which is running Windows 8 instead of Windows RT, will set you back $799, and if you want the dock for either tablet, you’ll have to shell out an additional $199.

The ASUS Taichi convertible tablet is going to cost you even more, as that has been stuck with a price tag of $1,299. ZDNet says that the roadmap also details a number of other machines that aren’t pictured in the image above, including a laptop that is priced at $549 and the next generation Transformer, which comes in at a whopping $1,399. Keep in mind that these prices may change by the time these machines actually hit shelves, but if these are the prices ASUS has decided on, then it’s going to have some difficulties finding an audience.

That’s especially true when there are other tablets out there available for much less. Why ASUS is pricing these tablets so high when it got the price of the Nexus 7 so right is entirely beyond us (though, to be fair, that may have been more Google’s doing), and we doubt that people are going to be jumping up and down for these products after seeing their prices. Still, as is usually the case, we can’t say for sure until it’s been confirmed, so maybe these products will launch with price tags that are a little easier to swallow. Stay tuned.

ASUS Windows 8 tablet pricing revealed in leaked holiday roadmap is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Windows 8 tablets have had their specs bandied about for months, but their prices have continued to remain off the radar. Now, however, a purported ASUS holiday roadmap sent to ZDNet may give us a glimpse as to how badly bank accounts could be affected this fall. According to the slide, the ASUS Vivo Tab will carry a $799 price tag and its Windows RT counterpart will come in at $599, which matches the previously reported price difference between slates running Redmond’s latest OS with Intel and AMD processors. The ASUS Taichi dual-screen notebook / tablet hybrid is said to ring up at a heftier $1,299. As for the firm’s Transformer Book, it will supposedly set purchasers back $1,399. If these prices are any indication of what we can expect from other OEMs, Microsoft’s Surface might be pricier than hoped.

Filed under: Tablets

Purported ASUS holiday roadmap pegs Windows 8 tablets at $599 and above originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Sep 2012 19:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Asus’ holiday roadmap was recently leaked to ZDnet, and we got our first insight to Windows 8 tablet pricing. They seem… a bit pricey. Asus is coming out with at least three Windows 8 tablets for the 2012 holidays. They’ve got the Vivo Tab RT, the low-end option with a 10.1” screen, that starts at $599. Adding a keyboard brings the total up to $798. There’s an 11.6” Vivo Tab starting at $800, which is interesting. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: ASUS will reportedly base their Windows 8 devices on Apple’s current iPad price, Asus Tablet 810 spotted at the FCC,

Microsoft’s next big release is just around the corner. The company has been working on its upcoming OS ‘Windows 8′ for some time and had earlier announced that the OS will finally be released during the month of October this year. Eventually, it also specified that on Oct 26th, Windows 8 will become commercially available.

Now, the company has rolled out official invitations to a Windows 8 event on Oct 25th. The event is at New York City yet what’s intriguing is that the invite doesn’t contain exact venue or time for the event.  (more…)

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