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When Windows 8 arrives in October, it’ll come with one awesome, unsung feature: you can carry your entire computer around with you on a flash drive, turning any PC you find into your PC. More »

Speaking during Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference keynote in Toronto, Corporate VP and CFO Tami Reller announced that the software giant will release Windows 8 to manufacturers next month. She also confirmed the previous October ship target — that being the timeframe that consumers can expect to pick up a Windows 8-equipped machine, or presumably upgrade from a previous version of the OS. There’s not much to report beyond that — manufacturers will see Windows 8 next month, while the rest of us will need to hang tight until the fall.

Microsoft confirms Windows 8 will reach RTM stage in August, consumers in October originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Jul 2012 10:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Back at Computex last month we saw dozens of Windows 8-ready Ultrabooks on display: sliding-ones, touchscreen ones, foldable ones. Curiously, though, there were virtually none aimed at businesses — you know, one of Microsoft’s key customer groups. Today, though, Fujitsu is unveiling not one, but two devices aimed at the corporate crowd: the Stylistic Q702 laptop/tablet hybrid and the LifeBook T902, a convertible laptop.

Starting with the Q702, it’s an 11.6-inch tablet that works with an optional keyboard dock and also supports pen input. Yes, that’s a form factor we know all too well at this point, but this one at least manages to differentiate itself with business-friendly features like TPM, Intel Anti-Theft technology, Computrace support and built-in WWAN and LTE connectivity (so far, we know AT&T, Verizon and Sprint will be on board). Under the hood, it runs Ivy Bridge processors (Core i3 or i5) with 4GB of RAM and an SSD with up to 128GB of storage space. As you’d expect of an 11.6-inch Windows tablet, the resolution is 1,366 x 768, though Fujitsu also added Gorilla Glass coating and ratcheted the brightness up to 400 nits. On its own, the 1.88-pound tablet is rated for 4.5 hours of runtime (the dock adds an extra 5.5). Speaking of which, in addition to a built-in battery, the dock adds two USB 2.0 / 3.0 ports, Ethernet jack and VGA.

Moving on, the LifeBook T902 replaces this guy with a higher-res 13-inch Gorilla Glass display (1,600 x 900 this time) and is powered by Ivy Bridge processors (i5 and i7 chips, to be precise). Inside that 4.1-pound body you can cram up to 16GB of RAM, along with optional WWAN or LTE radios. It’s also home to a modular bay, which you can use to add a spare battery or hard drive, or maybe even an optical drive. Fujitsu rates the battery life at up to 11 hours, but that’s assuming you go ahead and buy that second battery. Here, too, you’ll find security features like TPM and Computrace support, but unlike the Q702 tablet it adds a fingerprint sensor and IT-friendly vPro chips.

The Q702 and T902 will both ship with Windows 7, but are naturally upgradeable to Win8. Look for both to arrive sometime in the third quarter, with the Q702 hybrid starting at $1,099 and the T902 going for $1,899 and up. Full PR after the break, along with a press shot of the convertible.

Continue reading Fujitsu unveils the Stylistic Q702 hybrid tablet and the LifeBook T902 convertible laptop

Fujitsu unveils the Stylistic Q702 hybrid tablet and the LifeBook T902 convertible laptop originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Jul 2012 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung’s first Windows RT tablet will drop in October, sources have claimed, running Microsoft’s slate-version of Windows 8 on ARM processors from Qualcomm. The tablet’s release is expected to be alongside initial availability of Windows RT models, Bloomberg‘s insiders say, despite high-profile drop outs such as HP deciding not to follow the RT path.

Talk of Samsung partnering with Qualcomm to use Snapdragon in Windows RT hardware first surfaced back in December, with Microsoft supposedly playing matchmaker between device manufacturers and chipset companies. At the time, Qualcomm supposedly selected Samsung because of its comprehensive manufacturing capabilities, in addition to the fact that Samsung already had its Galaxy Tab series of Android slates in the marketplace.

Exact specifications for the Samsung Windows RT model have not been confirmed, though as it stands the company looks likely to use a Snapdragon S4 processor. Such chips have been found in recent high-end phones  like the Samsung Galaxy S III variants in the US, and indeed Qualcomm provided developers with Windows RT prototypes using the processors earlier this year.

Microsoft threw the tablet cat among the pigeons in recent weeks, revealing its own Surface tablet running Windows RT. Though HP subsequently insisted that its decision to bypass the RT slate segment (in favor of full-fat Windows 8 tablets running x86 processors from Intel and AMD) was settled prior to Surface being revealed, rumors indicate many of Microsoft’s high-profile OEM partners were frustrated by the own-brand tablets.

Samsung Windows RT tablet tipped for October with Qualcomm chip is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

According to the folks over at DigiTimes, HP and Dell will be launching Windows RT tablets in the fourth quarter of 2012 – however, we’ve previously reported about HP confirming that they will not be releasing Windows RT tablets initially which casts some doubt on DigiTime’s story. However, if it turns out to be half true, we’ll be seeing Dell Windows RT tablets powered by Qualcomm processors later this year.

In addition to its reports about HP and Dell, it claims that Acer, Sony and Samsung will be in on the Windows RT tablet game as well, though the latter two companies are said to be conservative about it. As usual, we should take DigiTimes rumors with a pinch of salt – so stay tuned for more details in the future.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: HP Pulls Out From Windows RT Tablet Race [Confirmed], Dell Latitude 10 has more information detailed,