HP and Dell are reportedly eying Windows 8 as the platform of choice to stay out of the fiercely-competitive Android market. Meanwhile, Motorola quietly launches a XOOM "family edition" tablet exclusively at Best Buy.
Unnamed industry sources report that both HP and Dell are planning to re-enter the tablet market using Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 operating system. These devices are expected to launch during Q3 2012, possibly even during the back-to-school season in late August to early September.
HP's reason for using Windows 8 is fairly obvious. The company clearly stated just last month that although it discontinued producing tablets with Palm's webOS platform, it had no intentions to back out of the tablet sector. But its reasoning in not focusing on the highly-popular Android "Honeycomb" OS may simply be due to market saturation.
According to the sources, not only has Amazon triggered a pricing war with the launch of its Kindle Fire Android-based tablet, but has also pushed tablet vendors into seeking out alternative platforms in order to stay out of the fierce competition. Sources even point to Motorola's XOOM Family Edition tablet now sold exclusively through Best Buy as a fierce contender, a 10.1-inch tablet with 16 GB of internal storage for just $379 USD.
Motorola revealed the Best Buy exclusive on Friday, a kid-friendly Android 3.1-powered tablet packed with $40 worth of software including the award-winning Kid Mode app by Zoodles that helps kids have fun learning while keeping the device (and their eyes) safe. The tablet also includes Motorola's own MotoPack, QuickOffice Pro HD and MotoPrint for when the kids go to bed and the parents need to catch up on work.
"Tablets continue to generate excitement and we are thrilled to be able to offer the Motorola XOOM Family Edition to Best Buy customers," said Scott Wallace, senior director of tablet merchandising at Best Buy. "We think these devices are great for kids and families, and offer something for everyone. At Best Buy, we've long stood for choice and are delighted that the new XOOM Family Edition will be part of our selection."
As for system specs, the tablet sports a dual-core Tegra 2 SoC clocked at 1 GHz, a 10.1-inch HS IPS HD screen (1280 x 800), a 5MP rear-facing camera with a built-in flash, a front -facing 1.3MP video webcam, 16 GB of internal storage, 1 GB of RAM, a microSD card slot for expanding up to 32 GB of extra storage, GPS, Bluetooth, 802.11 b/g/n connectivity, a battery life of up to 10 hours, HDMI output and more.
Industry sources say that, despite HP and Dell looking at Windows 8 as an alternative tablet OS, Asus and Acer plan to continue to offer Android devices. Lenovo will also use Android, but for its business-use ThinkPad tablets. Dell will reportedly use Windows 8 as the platform for its own business-related tablet offerings.
Just make the better product and you'll make money. If Apple has one thing right, is that particular philosophy of focusing on the "important". And at least, so far, Asus caught it quite right for the Android world.
Cheers!
Maybe Intel will come up with a way to make super efficient 22nm chips that allows x86 to be competitive on battery life and form factor while remaining relatively powerful? Oh wait...
It will be just as saturated as the laptop market... It's Windows after all. But how is that bad for us consumers? More competition means better prices, tablets will be constantly on sale.
win 8 looks more promising as a tablet and tablet pc os but i'm worried about how much price it will add to the final price.
more competition and more os choices are always welcome since they drive innovation and lower prices.
and a decent tablet pc is long overdue.
on another note: dell streak rules! xoom sucks!
Consider that Microsoft has reached licensing agreements with several Android manufacturers due to patent infringement. Also consider that they may simply see Windows as a more reliable choice for long term development and support. Google seems to start things and stop things pretty randomly.
I'd say this is true anything with Windows on it adds the price of the tablet by around 50$ by its self. They should offer to versions one with Google and one with W8.
Seriously? Guess you haven't heard of intel ultra low voltage processors then. Android tablets are done once W8 Tablets come out.
Native x86 applications CAN RUN on Windows 8 tablet if they are built on top of .NET Framework. Get your facts right.
Who the hell does want assslow Windows tablet?
Windows 8 will use roughly the same resources as Windows XP and I now have a phone that is more powerful than the PC I had when XP first came out
...
I think the myth of slow MS needs to fade away
On top of an ARM processor? Does Intel or AMD has a tablet x86 chip ready for Dell and HP to slap Win8 on top of it? I haven't heard anything of the like, so...
Cheers!
Intel and AMD will have tablet chips when Windows 8 launches, have faith, as far as ARM and X86 goes, the best scenario would be AMD and ARM having a merger - that would be fantastic for the consumer.
it works very well, full laptop specs, and its a TABLET. (funny thing is, its cheaper than a lot of the android / iOS equals.. and yes I bought one and can say that it does what they say it does. win 8 absolutely flies on it and I have to give up nothing to have it.