Hasta La Gadget!

During Microsoft‘s quarterly earnings call yesterday, CFO Peter Klein mentioned that the company is working with OEMs to manufacturer “a new suite of small touch devices powered by Windows.” Klein didn’t specifically mention what exactly these devices would be, but it’s a good guess that we could be talking about the smaller 7-inch variety.

We’ve been tipped before at the possibility of Microsoft getting into the 7-inch tablet game, but we have yet to hear anything official from Microsoft. Klein notes that these “small touch devices” will have “competitive price points,” and they’re said to “available in the coming months,” according to Klein.

However, it’s also possible that other manufacturers will develop smaller tablets that will run Windows. An update to Windows 8′s hardware requirements last month hinted at the fact that the operating system may soon be fitted for smaller-form tablets, as Microsoft lowered the minimum resolution down to 1024×768.

We’re not sure exactly if Microsoft will be making their own 7-inch tablets, or if they’ll leave the task up to their OEM partners like HP, Acer, Asus, etc. However, we at least now know that we should be expecting these device to release sometime over the next few months, which means we’ll be going into the holiday season with smaller-form Windows-based tablets.

[via AppleInsider]

Microsoft working with OEMs on smaller Windows tablets is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If you fancy smaller tablet devices, like the Nexus 7, Amazon Kindle Fire, Galaxy Tab 7.7, and the iPad mini, you might be interested to learn that Microsoft has also expressed an interest in smaller devices as well and has confirmed that they are working on optimizing Windows RT and Windows 8 for smaller screen devices with the next update of the operating system. Microsoft did not state specifically that this update would be only for tablets, but rather it would be for Windows 8 touchscreen devices, which includes tablets as well as laptop/tablet hybrid devices. Microsoft’s CFO, Peter Klein, confirmed that they are currently working with PC OEMs to develop these smaller devices which are expected to be launched in the near future. What do you guys think? Anyone interested in a smaller form factor Windows device?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Android 4.1.1 Update For Sony Xperia Tablet S Announced, Microsoft Accounts Receive Two-Step Verification To Help Keep Secure,

Toshiba is releasing “Dynabook KIRA V832″ – the first 13.3 inch WQHD LCD Monitor touch panel Ultrabook – on April 24.

The screen features a 3.7 million pixel (2,560×1,440) high-definition LCD, which is better than full HD display. The battery life is 9.5 hours long. Intel Core i5-3337U processor, 128GB SSD, 8GB RAM, and keyboard with backlight are built-in.

Price: open price
Size: 316 x 207 x 9.5-19.8 mm
Weight: 1.35 kg
OS: Windows 8 64bit

We first got word of the Lenovo C540 all-in-one back back in November of last year, however it wasn’t until January when we saw a complete set of details and some pricing. That news came during CES and while that was a few months back, the C540 has only recently begun shipping. Lenovo has the C540 listed as being both affordable and family friendly. Further touting the C540 as having a complete set of entertainment features and a space saving design. Well, over the course of the past week we have been using the C540 all-in-one for our daily computing needs and you can read on to see how it stands up to those claims.

Hardware

Lenovo has these built out with a 23-inch display at 1920 x 1080, running Windows 8 and powered by an Intel Pentium G2020 processor. The model we tested had the processor clocked at 2.9GHz and with Intel HD Graphics 2500, 4GB of RAM and a 1TB hard drive. Hardware specs aside, the system itself has a decent overall look, albeit with a bezel that is a bit on the shiny side. Basically, that is just to say that you can expect to see dust, fingerprints and other smudges. Certainly not a deal breaker, but something to be aware of.

The setup itself is straight forward and easy. Aside from the 23-inch display, the C540 has a webcam sitting front and center on the top along with the power button towards the bottom on the left side of the system. In total there are six USB 2.0 ports — four on the back and two on the left hand side of the system. Also on the left side (above the power button) you will find the headphone and microphone jacks as well as a memory card reader. Rounding out the ports on the back and you have the power jack, HDMI and Ethernet. The system also has Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n connectivity.

Basically, just what you need and all in easy to access locations. The system itself is on the thin side and looking from the front, would appear to be nothing more than a regular monitor. The good part here is that as the C540 is an all-in-one — there is no tower needed. Another item worth noting is a DVD drive which can be found on the right-hand side. Otherwise, Lenovo ships the C540 with a USB keyboard and mouse and has the system sitting on a stand that swivels allowing you to adjust the viewing angle a bit.

Software

The Lenovo C540 is running a 64-bit edition of Windows 8, which means it will bring an experience that will be familiar to many. The basics are all included which means when you first get up and running you will find tiles for goodies such as your mail and calendar as well as people, photos and more. There is also a live tile for the weather as well as tiles for SkyDrive, Games, Camera, Music and Video.

Aside from the basics that you will find on just about an Windows 8 system, Lenovo has also added a few goodies of their own. We will leave the bloatware argument aside and instead simply note how these include some Lenovo specifics such as PowerDVD 10 and the slightly more important items such as the Lenovo System Recovery. Rounding out the software are some third party apps such as an Amazon app as well as a Kindle, Evernote and cloud storage app. The cloud storage app is SugarSync and it gets you started with 5GB for free.

Performance

Speaking in terms of performance, the system was able to handle our day to day needs with ease. Granted, quite a bit of that involved little more than a web browser, text editor and some basic image work. Of course, the key here is who the Lenovo C540 is aimed at — the average home user. In that respect, we have to say the C540 should be able to live up to your needs.

Taking this a step further and the play time experience was just as solid. That is to say we found no issues with some light gaming along with music and video streaming. Shifting over to the technical side, lets get into what the benchmarks look like for the Lenovo C540. These were done using Geekbench and the results are sitting below.

Wrap-Up

Bottom line here, the Lenovo C540 all-in-one seems to be well suited for the intended audience. That is to say the average home user that wants something powerful enough for day to day use. Of course, the good looks and relatively slim design only go to further that thought. The model as configured is priced from $500 and can be found with a variety of online retailers with prices through the $500 range. Also, as one would expect with desktop computers there is always the option to upgrade. In this case, Lenovo has options for faster processors, more RAM and even additional storage. Needless to say, based on what we have tested — we think this ‘as tested’ model will be just fine for the majority of users.

Lenovo C540 All-In-One Desktop PC Review is written by Robert Nelson & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It’s not the system Microsoft thought it’d be – Windows RT, the alternate to Windows 8 for lower-powered systems. It’s like the tablet version of Windows 8, but with many of the same bits and pieces of the full deal. This week Dell’s head of tablet and high-end PC business Neil Hand spoke with CNET, saying that based on what they’ve seen thus far, the Windows RT wave of machines hasn’t exactly been the success story they’d hoped it’d be.

With our reviews of Windows RT devices you’ll find that we’ve not been too impressed. Have a peek at the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11 Review we did earlier this month and you’ll see that while the hardware is basically a masterpiece of bits and pieces, the system is less than spectacular. With a full Windows 8 we’d have given the machine much higher praise. It would appear that Dell has been seeing similar responses for their newest RT devices.

Dell’s first Windows RT device on the market is the Dell XPS 10, a machine we got some hands-on with with in Germany this past season at IFA 2012.

“Demand is not where I would like it to be at this point in time. The amount of market information about it is not good enough, and the market sentiment is still pretty negative.” – Neil Hand, Dell

It was added that the Windows app experience for Windows RT has “not been as strong as it needed to be.” If you’re looking at a machine with Windows RT vs a machine with Windows 8, you’ve got a number of apps that literally work on your machine that’s less than Windows 8 – and Windows 8 supports less apps than we’d like, too.

On the flip side, groups like NVIDIA have made an effort to boost the market with their own NVIDIA TegraZone for Windows RT, a system that, like it’s Android counterpart, shows users that work with their processors that there are fabulous apps to be had. With several Windows RT machines on the market today you’re working with an NVIDIA Tegra 4 quad-core processor – with that, you’ve got games that will blow you away, even if you’re working with less than Windows 8.

Have a peek in the timeline below for additional news about Windows RT as of late and let us know if you’ve got a Window RT machine at your desk right this minute!

Dell Exec: Windows RT response is “still pretty negative” is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.