Hasta La Gadget!

As if showing up in two of the first four reference devices for Windows on ARM wasn’t enough of an achievement for NVIDIA’s quad-core Kal-El superchip, it decided to visit us in person here at Computex to demonstrate its splendid graphical prowess. Running Android 3.1 on a 10-inch, 1280 x 800 screen, it gave us a first-hand look at the Glow Ball demo that wowed us in video form just a couple of days ago. What we saw on the dev tablet before us was no less impressive; lighting was being rendered in real time and scattered over a multiplicity of surfaces, while the cloth simulation was, to use a terrible pun, silky smooth. NVIDIA also ran us through a sightseeing tour of the Unreal Development Kit and Lost Planet 2, noting that the PC game took only a couple of months to port over to work on the Kal-El architecture. Unfortunately, no new details were forthcoming about when Kal-El devices might be coming or what developers we should expect to see coding games and other content to exploit the platform’s evidently mighty capabilities. For now, we’ll just have to sate ourselves with the video after the break.

Continue reading NVIDIA Kal-El reference tablet hands-on (video)

NVIDIA Kal-El reference tablet hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Jun 2011 04:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re live from Microsoft Windows president Steven Sinofsky’s keynote at D9, and there’s something rather exciting on stage — a pair of experimental Windows 8 dev boards running an OS that looks very much like Windows Phone 7’s Metro UI. All Things D actually sat down with the man earlier today and got a sneak peek at what to expect starting with the live tiled screen you see above — and yes, like Windows Phone 7, this OS is designed for touch.

There’ll be two kinds of applications for Windows 8, one that runs in a traditional desktop, and the other pseudo-mobile apps based on HTML5 and Javascript, but both environments — rather, the entire OS — have been designed from the ground up for touchscreen use. Keyboard and mouse will still be options for both sets of programs, but there are multiple virtual sets of keys for different form factors, including a split keyboard for vertical slate use. Multitasking is simply a matter of swiping running apps into the center of the screen, and you can pull windows partway to “snap” them in place alongside other windows — even mixing and matching traditional desktop programs with web apps simultaneously (like Twitter alongside your spreadsheet). There’s a new version of Internet Explorer 10 (which runs Silverlight) and an app store built into the touchscreen interface, along with integrated services like Office 365. Microsoft says the new OS will run on laptops, tablets and desktops when it appears — whenever that might be.

All Things D didn’t have any details on when we’ll get pricing or availability, but we’re looking at some Intel Atom-based demo units on stage right now, and Microsoft says it will have ARM designs (the OS will support NVIDIA, TI and Qualcomm) viewable on the Computex show floor, and more will be revealed at the Build Windows developer conference in September. We should note that “Windows 8” is just a codename for what we’re seeing here — “we’ll figure out the real name in due time,” Sinofsky told the crowd — but we don’t see much harm in calling it Windows 8 for now.

Update: Video after the break!

Continue reading Microsoft unveils Windows 8 (video)

Microsoft unveils Windows 8 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 19:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A trio of sources speaking to Bloomberg have seemingly shed light on Acer’s concerns with Microsoft’s new tablet strategy. Seems that the boys beneath Ballmer hope to speed delivery of the company’s new tablet OS by limiting variations. To accomplish this, Microsoft is offering incentives to chip and computer makers that agree to form sole alliances (i.e., one chipmaker works exclusively with one computer manufacturer) including enhanced feature sets and lower prices on Microsoft software. Under the plan, chip suppliers will be able to select a second company to produce a clamshell-style laptop using Microsoft’s next wares. The plan is not mandatory and does not apply to desktop use of Microsoft next operating system, according to Bloomberg‘s sources. However, if true, then it represents a dramatic departure from Microsoft’s traditional war-of-attrition approach to the laptop and tablet market that has resulted in a near limitless choice of brands and configurations so synonymous with Wintel. It all sounds incredible until you consider Microsoft’s approach to Windows Phone that already marries its mobile OS to a highly restrictive specification sheet. With Windows Next (or Windows 8, if you prefer) set to support both Intel architectures and ARM (and all its licensees), we can understand Microsoft’s desire for tighter control over its partners in hopes of accelerating development and testing. After all, Microsoft is conspicuously absent from the tablet discussion these days. We guess Steve wasn’t kidding when he called this OS Microsoft’s “riskiest product bet” yet.

Update: And now DigiTimes has jumped in with support for Acer CEO, J.T. Wang, claiming that Taiwan’s PC makers have been excluded from Microsoft’s Integrated Development Program (IDP) for Windows 8 tablet PCs. According to the Taiwanese rumor rag, long time Microsoft partners Acer, ASUS, and even HTC have been shut out of the proceedings. Instead, DigiTimes claims that chipmakers Intel, AMD, TI, Qualcomm and NVIDIA have been invited by Microsoft to choose manufacturers from a first-round list of participants limited to Dell, HP, and Samsung. Hopefully Microsoft will add some clarity to all this later today when we get our first look at its next generation OS. [Thanks, Pradeep]

Microsoft incentivizing chipmakers and tablet manufacturers to form ‘sole alliances’? (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 06:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer’s David Lee just hijacked Intel’s netbooks and tablets Computex keynote to unveil a brand new 10-inch tablet: the Iconia M500. It’s the first in the company’s new M Series and runs MeeGo atop an Atom (Moorestown) processor. Its appearance and dimensions are strikingly similar to the company’s Android tablet, the A500, and that similarity extends to the resolution of the screen as well: 1280 x 800. The MeeGo interface is a custom Acer skin offering what was described as a “snackable UI.” The point seems to be to offer instant access to the things you care about, and the brief demo we saw featured a set of live widgets organized around an “Acer circle.” Mr. Lee, an Assistant Vice President with the company, tells us Acer’s new 10-incher will be on sale at (not by, sadly) the end of this year.

Update: We’ve just added a gallery of hands-on shots below and you’ll find video of the M500 after the break.

Continue reading Acer Iconia M500 runs MeeGo on an Atom CPU, coming at the end of this year (hands-on video!)

Acer Iconia M500 runs MeeGo on an Atom CPU, coming at the end of this year (hands-on video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 04:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toshiba announces Oak Trail-based WT310/C Windows tablet for Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 May 2011 18:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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