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HTC has reportedly axed plans to launch a 12-inch tablet running Windows RT, sources claim, after deciding demand for the slate would be insufficient, though a smaller version is still said to be on the roadmap. The unnamed 12-inch tablet was sidelined over fears that it would be too expensive, Bloomberg reports, with the components required adding up to too great a bill-of-materials to allow a competitive street price.

Meanwhile, the underlying consumer interest in Windows RT has also spooked HTC, the sources familiar with the company’s tablet plans suggests. Microsoft is yet to release sales figures for machines running the platform – which modifies Windows 8 to work on ARM-based processors, rather than the x86 chips more commonly associated with the OS – though figures from IDC suggest less than a quarter of a million were sold in Q1 this year.

HTC seemingly has some lingering interest in Windows RT, however, since it is believed to have a smaller slate running the OS in the pipeline. The 7-inch tablet isn’t due until later in 2013, and will run RT on a chipset from Qualcomm’s Snapdragon stable, just as the 12-inch variant was supposedly going to.

The company will hedge its bets, however, by also offering an Android tablet at roughly the same time as the RT variant. Also expected to be 7-inches in size, the second slate will echo HTC’s split in smartphones, with part of its range running Android while the rest uses Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform.

Even if Windows RT’s lackluster success wasn’t sufficient to sink the large tablet plan, research into the appeal of different form-factor sizes indicates HTC is right to leave the 12-inch segment alone. According to recent predictions, even by 2017 11-inch or above models are only expected to comprise around 6-percent of total tablet sales.

Tablets aren’t the only bigger-screen push HTC is believed to be planning. The company is also tipped to be working on a “phablet”, larger than the HTC One, and potentially headed to Verizon.

HTC reportedly scraps 12″ Windows RT tablet plans (but 7″ still on the way) is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

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We’ve been hearing a lot about Windows 8.1 lately, and while it’s been confirmed for a little while, very few details have made their way into the ether. However, Microsoft unwrapped plenty of details about the upcoming update, and there are a handful of updated apps and new features, as well as the return of the Start button, as previously rumored.

First off, the Start button is back, but don’t get too excited just yet. As rumored yesterday, the new Start button doesn’t work like in past Windows iterations, and clicking on it will simply bring up a metro-style list of all the apps installed, but you can move these around to your liking. So while it’s not exactly like the traditional Start button that we know and love, it’ll be slightly similar.

Personalization will be an added bonus when the Windows 8.1 update lands next month. Users will be able to use their lock screens as a slideshow to show off their favorite set of photos from vacation, and it’ll even pull photos from SkyDrive. Users will also have more options as far as choosing a Start screen background, and Microsoft also included motion wallpapers that animate. You can make your desktop background the same background on the start screen as well, in order to make the start screen less segregated from everything else going on around you.

There’s also some minor changes coming to the Start screen itself, including the ability to quickly move around apps to your liking by resizing them and moving multiple apps around at the same time. You’ll also be able to create groups and name them what you want, and to see a quick list of all your apps on one page, you simply swipe up from the bottom to make it happen.

Windows 8 Search also is receiving a nice little bump, allowing for quicker search results and reducing the time it takes to search for something and actually clicking on it to bring it up. Currently, searching for something will bring up results in categories, but the update will deliver direct links to users, getting rid of an extra step that wasn’t a huge deal to begin with, but quicker is always better in our eyes. Bing search results from the web will also appear alongside your local files.

As for built-in apps in Windows 8, Microsoft is improving all of them in some way or another, as well as improving multitasking between apps. Microsoft says that the Photos app will come with some new editing features, and the Music app has been redesigned. As for multitasking, Windows 8.1 will allow users to “snap” up to three apps on one screen, and you’ll be able to resize apps to any size you want, so those with multiple monitors will be able to have a ton of apps open and viewable at once, which is pretty cool.

Cloud storage is also a larger focus in Windows 8.1. Microsoft’s SkyDrive is integrated much more deeply into the operating system than before, allowing users to save files directly to SkyDrive without any friction. The new SkyDrive app also gives you access to your local files, as well as files that are in the cloud. Plus, you’ll even be able to access these files offline. Settings will also be saved to SkyDrive, meaning that when you log into a new Windows 8.1 device using your Microsoft account, all of your personalized settings will activate.

Microsoft says that there’s plenty of information still to come, including changes to built-in apps (and we have yet to hear about a boot-to-desktop feature). Plus, we should be hearing a heck of a lot more about the update come next month when Microsoft hosts their annual BUILD conference, where the company will officially release Windows 8.1 into the wild.

Windows 8.1 fully detailed with return of Start button is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It’s been rumored for quite some time that Microsoft would be bringing back the Start button in Windows 8.1. This news alone has Windows users jumping for joy, but their celebrations may be premature, as the Start button won’t come back in full force, meaning that it won’t bring up a Windows 7-like Start Menu that we all know and love.

According to ZDNet, various sources says that the Start button will be placed in the same location on the task bar just like it was in past Windows versions, and it’s said that it will most likely be turned on by default, with the option to disable it in the settings if you prefer no Start button.

However, that’s where most of the familiarity ends. It’s said that pressing the Start button will bring up a full-screen view of “All Apps”, similar to the current Windows 8 view that users can get to when they bring up the app bar and select “All Apps.” Users can arrange the icons, though, but that’ll be the closest it gets to getting the Windows 7 Start Menu back.

Of course, that’s not terrible news. Instead of a little window popping up, allowing you to browse your various applications, the new Start button in Windows 8.1 will bring up a full-screen view of practically the same thing that you would see in the Windows 7 Start Menu — it’s just a different look, obviously.

As for the boot-to-desktop feature that has also been rumored, it’s said to be in the latest Milestone Preview of Windows 8.1, along with the Start button, which means that we’ll hopefully see these new features in the final update. The boot-to-desktop feature also works just how it sounds, allowing users to boot straight to Desktop Mode, skipping the metro-style start screen altogether. It’s also said that the update will allow users to set the same background image between Desktop Mode and the start screen, allowing for a more unified look to the OS.

SOURCE: ZDNet

Windows 8.1 Start button won’t do what you expect is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

A new 256GB version of Microsoft’s Surface Pro tablet has been revealed, with the larger-capacity Windows 8 slate showing up in Japan. The new variant – which has not yet been added to Microsoft’s US listing for the 10.6-inch tablet – is otherwise identical to the 128GB Surface Pro we reviewed back in February, and will go on sale in Japan alongside the smaller-storage model next month.

According to the Japanese listing, of the 256GB of solid-state storage inside the tablet, around 208GB is available to the user. The rest is occupied by recovery images and other system files. Still, that’s a fair step up from the 128GB Surface Pro, which offers just 89GB of free capacity.

Otherwise, there’s the familiar 1920 x 1080 touchscreen, Core i5 processor with Intel HD Graphics 4000, and 4GB of RAM, while connectivity includes WiFi a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0. Ports consist of a full-sized USB 3.0, microSDXC memory card slot, headphone socket, Mini DisplayPort, and a docking connector for the magnetically-attached keyboards.

Japanese buyers will pay a 20,000 yen premium for the boost in storage. The 128GB Surface Pro will go on sale in the country from June 8, priced at 99,800 yen ($987), while the 256GB Surface Pro will be 119,800 yen ($1,184).

Both versions of the full-Windows tablet will come with a copy of Office 2013 along with Microsoft’s digital stylus, which can be used for sketching and handwriting on the slate. As for the keyboard-covers, the Touch Cover will be 9,980 yen ($99) while the Type Cover, with its raised keys, will be 10,980 yen ($109).

VIA: Neowin

Microsoft’s 256GB Surface Pro shows up in Japan is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.