Hasta La Gadget!

During the Wired Business Conference today, Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President for Windows Julie Larson-Green confirmed that a major update for Windows 8 — known as Windows 8.1 “Blue” — will be launching this year, with a developer version arriving first during Microsoft’s BUILD conference at the end of the June.

An exact release date for the final version hasn’t been disclosed yet, but Microsoft says that it’ll be out at some point “later this year.” While the preview that the company will release in June will mostly be meant for developers, the company will be providing public preview versions as well for anyone to try out.

We’ve been hearing a lot of chatter about Windows Blue lately, including the possibility of Microsoft bringing back some crucial features that users have missed from Windows 7, including re-introducing the Start button, and including an option to boot straight to the desktop, bypassing the start screen altogether.

Microsoft could also be working on Windows Blue versions for their tablet operating system. We heard hearsay earlier today about the possibility of new HTC tablets coming with an updated version Windows RT. We’re not sure if we’ll hear about Blue updates for Windows RT at BUILD this year, but it’ll definitely be something that we’ll keep in our minds as we go into June.

Windows 8.1 Blue confirmed for June launch for developers is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We know Windows Blue is expected to be released some time this year, but it looks like that’s not the only good news Microsoft has for Windows users today as they are also announcing Windows 8 has surpassed 100M licenses in its first six months of availability.

“Windows 8 is a big, ambitious change,” Microsoft CMO and CFO Tami Reller wrote in a blog post highlighting today’s news. “While we realize that change takes time, we feel good about the progress since launch, including what we’ve been able to accomplish with the ecosystem and customer reaction to the new PCs and tablets that are available now or will soon come to market.” (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Windows Blue Public Preview Release Confirmed For June, HTC R7 And R12 Windows RT Blue Tablets Launch Reportedly In October,

New models from Sony’s VAIO series will be released beginning on May 18. This included 3 touch panel Fit models and 1 non-touch panel Fit model, as well as the latest version of the Duo 11, featuring the “Surf Slider” tablet/laptop sliding display and digitizer stylus pen.

VAIO Fit 15, 2 models:

SVF15A18CJS, B, P – About ¥180,000
– Intel Core i7-3537U Processor (2GHz)
– 15.5 inch full HD (1920×1080) display
– Memory: 8GB, HDD: Hybrid HDD 1TB
– Windows 8 64 bit
– Color: silver, black, pink
– Touch panel

SVF15A17CJS, B, P – About ¥165,000
– Intel Core i5-3337U Processor (1.80GHz)
– 15.5 inch full HD (1920×1080) display
– Memory: 8GB, HDD: Hybrid HDD 1TB
– Windows 8 64 bit
– Color: silver, black, pink
– Touch panel

VAIO Fit 14:

SVF14A19CJS, B, P – About ¥150,000
– Intel Core i3-3227U Processor (1.90GHz)
– 14 inch (1600×900) display
– Memory: 4GB, HDD: Hybrid HDD 1TB
– Windows 8 64 bit
– Color: silver, black, pink
– Touch panel

VAIO Fit 15E:

SVF15217CJW, B – About ¥105,000
– Intel Pentium 2117U Processor (1.80GHz)
– 15.5 inch (1366×768) display
– Memory: 4GB, HDD: HDD 1TB
– Windows 8 64 bit
– Color: white, black
– Non-touch panel

VAIO Duo 11:

SVD11239CJS, B – About ¥160,000
– Intel Core i5-3337U Processor (1.80GHz)
– By sliding a display, you can use it as both tablet and laptop (Surf Slider style)
– It comes with a digitizer stylus pen
– 11.6 inch full HD(1920×1080) display
– Memory: 6GB, SSD: 128GB
– Windows 8 64 bit
– Colors: silver, black

Microsoft has published its latest interview with Tami Reller, this one coming at about the 6-month point from Windows 8‘s launch. Like the last interview, this one covers Windows 8 and what’s going on with it, and while the entire conversation is a good read, there are two glaring facts that stand out: Microsoft has hit the 100 million Windows 8 licenses sold milestone, and likewise has confirmed that Windows Blue will be arriving this year.

Says Reller in the interview, Microsoft has just recently sold its 100 millionth Windows 8 lincese (and since surpassed that number), saying the number represents both PC/tablet licenses and upgrades. To give an idea of the sales rate, the number of licenses sold sat at about 60 million back in January of this year. Following in line with this, certified devices have also increased to 2400.

And then, of course, there’s Windows Blue, which we saw a leak of back in March. Blue is an update said to bring new features and other improvements to Windows 8, having been the source of much speculation over the course of many weeks. When asked about the update, Reller confirmed that it will be rolling out “later this year,” saying that it’ll bring something to the table for just about everyone – features for companies and consumers and the community that has been providing ample feedback for months now.

There was also some discussion about the PC market in general, in particular its rumored impending demise. Microsoft doesn’t see it that way, saying that “the PC is very much alive and increasingly mobile,” to which Reller says Windows 8 is tailored, specifically mentioning convertible laptops, notebooks with touchscreens, and other related devices. Rounding out the interview is a brief note on the Windows Store, with apps increasing 6-fold since launch. SkyDrive, likewise, has since growth, scoring 250 million users.

[via Microsoft]

Microsoft hits 100 million Windows 8 licenses sold milestone, says to expect Blue is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Today in an interview with The Wall Street Journal Asus CEO Jerry Shen said that he was very optimistic about the sales of Windows 8 tablets. He says that tablets powered by Windows 8 will see a significant growth in sales this year, and to achieve that 7-inch tablets powered by Windows 8 are going to be essential. This is true to some extent as almost all major manufacturers have a low-spec variant of their tablets out with moderate price tags, take for example the Nexus 7, the Kindle Fire and the iPad mini.

Asus CEO also believes that prices of Windows 8 tablets will fall down to below $300, which too will contribute significantly towards bringing in new customers. It was previously rumored that Microsoft and a number of its manufacturing partners were considering developing a 7 inch tablet, but no such device has officially materialized as yet. Only recently Bill Gates said in an interview that iPad users were frustrated with the tablet, the statement is now being construed as an indication from the ex-CEO of Microsoft that all a user actually needs is the Surface tablet. Currently Windows 8 tablets are 10 inches or higher in size, having a mid-range and mid-sized device just might carve a respectable position in the market.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: New Surface Tablet With 7.5-Inch Display Will Allegedly Sell For $399, 10-inch Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet Rumored,