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iPad should confirm its lead over Android tablets in 2012

The overall demand for tablet computers is on the rise, and amongst most customers, the Apple iPad’s lead over rival Google Android systems will increase over the next several years, according to a new International Data Corporation (IDC) study released on Thursday.

The IDC has increased its forecast for global tablet sales in 2012 from 106.1 million to 107.4 million, anticipating strong second-half sales of the devices, according to AFP reports.
The firm also increased projected 2013 tablet sales from 137.4 million to 142.8 million, and predicted that worldwide shipments could top 222 million in four year’s time.

The outlook isn’t promising for everyone though.
According to Chloe Albanesius of PCMag, IDC forecasts that Apple iOS tablets (the iPad family of products) will increase their global market share from 58.2% in 2011 to 62.5% in 2012.
Meanwhile, the Android tablet market share is expected to dip from 38.7% to 36.5%, while Research in Motion (RIM, BlackBerry maker) tablets are anticipated to drop from 1.7% market share to just 1%, Albanesius added.

Microsoft sends invites for two major next week events

Microsoft has two days of big news planned for next week that could include a look at Windows RT tablets and Windows Phone 8.

On Monday, 18^th June 2012, Microsoft will host a media event in Los Angeles, California, but the company hasn't provided any other details.

An invitation, received by various news outlets, says to expect “a major Microsoft announcement.”

Speculation is already rampant about what the news will be.
Sources outside Microsoft claim that the company will demonstrate tablets that run Windows RT, a special version of Windows 8 for ARM-based processors.
Although some hardware makers have already announced Windows RT tablets, Microsoft has not yet allowed any hands-on time.

That could change next week.

Windows Phone 8 first screen-shots leaked, Skype and Nokia Drive become native

Microsoft is expected to talk about Windows Phone 8 on 20^th June 2012 at their Dev Summit, however, details about the new mobile Operating System (OS) have already begun to surface – in the form of leaked screenshots.

First of all, the big news - Skype will be integrated straight into Windows Phone 8 (something we’ve been waiting for ever since Microsoft acquired the VoIP expert).
Skype will be integrated into the People Hub, and Skype calls can be answered with or without video.

It is not just Apple and Google's Android Ice Cream Sandwich that have data monitoring apps built into the OS.
A DataSmart app will be brought to Windows Phone 8 that will give up-to-the-minute statistics on how much data is being used and how many more days users have left in their billing cycle.
This app can be placed on the home screen for easy and seamless use.
The live DataSmart tile will give real time updates.

First look at ViewSonic Android Smart Display 21.5" 'tablet'

ViewSonic might not be one of the major tech players on the market, but one thing you can say about them is that they never fail to throw some curveballs come tradeshow time.

Computex 2012 was no different, with ViewSonic showing off what could legitimately be described as a 21.5” Android Ice Cream Sandwich tablet, called the Android Smart Display.

The 21.5” 1920 x 1080 HD display is anti-glare and multi-touch, and runs Google's Android Ice Cream Sandwich.
The 21.5” whatever-you-want-to-call-it stands on its own, and runs on a 1 GHz TI OMAP 4428 dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor, with 1 GB of LPDDR2 RAM. WiFi connectivity and Bluetooth v2.1 support is also on board.
There is a front-facing 1.2 MP HD camera, one HDMI port, three USB 2.0 ports, a micro SD slot supporting up to 32 GB of storage, and a headphone jack, as well.
Audio comes from Supreme SRS Sound technology.

Tablet prospective buyers outside USA favor Android over iPad

IDG Connect's study of 3,124 worldwide IT and business professionals demonstrates a startling move away from Apple iPads, especially in developing regions.

Results show that 71% of respondents own a tablet, 51% of these have an iPad, but more first time buyers will opt for Google Android over the next 12 months:

- 44% will buy an Android tablet

- 27% will buy an iPad

- 3% will opt for Windows 8

- 21% aren't sure

Dell drops Android to favor Windows 8 for its tablets

Appearing in a wide-ranging on-stage interview at market researcher Gartner's annual security and risk management conference, Michael Dell offered insights into several of his company's rapidly evolving business lines, including the decision to walk away from Google's Android tablets in the United States market in favor of Microsoft's Windows.

"I think the Microsoft Windows 8 solution is going to be very attractive to customers for a number of reasons," Dell said. "You'll see us at launch, at Windows 8 launch, with a full complement of devices - tablets, hybrids, convertibles - you know every imaginable and maybe some unimaginable forms."

Dell said that he expects Windows 8 devices to enter the market with an attractive price point, and that in the business sector, where the company primarily plans to focus, shops that already run Windows will be inclined to remain in that environment as they deploy tablets and other new devices.

Microsoft to propose Windows 8 Pro upgrade when you buy a new Windows 7 device

Microsoft has announced a Windows 8 upgrade programme for customers who purchase a Windows 7-based PC until next February.

The worldwide offer, which was launched last week in 131 markets, allows consumers who buy a Windows PC pre-installed with Windows 7 Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional or Ultimate, to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for a nominal charge.

To be eligible for the upgrade, users must purchase a new Windows 7 PC, must register online, and purchase a download of Windows 8 Pro on the day it becomes generally available.

At Computex 2012 the frontier between ultrabooks, notebooks and tablets is blurred

Slide it, flip it or snap it on and off.

The way keyboards are connected to touch screens on the latest generation of computing devices is making it tough to differentiate a tablet from notebook or an ultrabook.

Microsoft, which has long been the dominant force in PCs but has fallen far behind in the tablet race, is set to unveil its Windows 8 Operating System (OS) later this year, designed to run on super-thin laptops called ultrabooks and tablets powered by Intel's chips.

The impending launch has prompted PC vendors to come up with a rash of hybrid designs, featuring touch screens and myriad configurations of moving or detachable keyboards.

Microsoft bans HTC from Windows 8 tablets launch first batch

HTC, the Taiwanese electronics company, has been denied the opportunity to release some of the first tablets running Microsoft’s Windows 8 because its sales have weakened.

Bloomberg News reported on the Microsoft decision on 6^th June 212, the same day Taiwan-based HTC reported its second quarter revenue would be off by 13% after its first quarter revenue tumbled by 35% from the year ago quarter.
It also didn’t help that HTC shipments to the United States were held up by US Customs for two weeks last month before HTC was cleared of patent infringement allegations by Apple.

Microsoft told Bloomberg that HTC is a strong partner now and for the future, without commenting specifically on its relationship with HTC.
The company could still make Windows 8 tablets, but it wouldn’t be in the first batch of machines to reach the market.

Test Windows 8 Metro innovative user interface on your iPad and Android tablet

Splashtop made waves in April when the mobile app company launched the Windows 8 Testbed Metro for Apple's iPad.

This iPad app allowed owners to experience the highs and lows of Windows 8 Metro.
It’s a very impressive app offering nearly all the functionality of Metro including the many multitouch swipe functions.

And now it’s available for Google's Android tablets, too.

The price is still the same: US$49.99 (€39.97) but its current 50% off for an unspecified limited time.

Computex 2012 shows that the future of tablets is the hybrid PC

Hybrid PCs, machines that can transform from a traditional clamshell notebook into a tablet, aren't a new idea but the concept seems to be gaining a lot of traction, as evidenced by dozens of examples on display at this year's Computex show.

Microsoft introduced its "Tablet PC" concept a decade ago, and for years, we carried a convertible notebook. 
Indeed, companies like Lenovo and Fujitsu have been making and selling such machines all along, through primarily in niche markets. 

The Apple's iPad changed all that of course, making tablets into a real consumer product for the first time.

AMD expects Windows tablets to grab 20% of the global market

The chief Executive of computer processor maker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) said Wednesday the company expects tablet computers that run on Microsoft Windows Operating System (OS) will in five years grab a 20% share of the global tablet market so far dominated by Apple's iPad.

AMD CEO Rory Read said in an interview that Microsoft's next-generation Windows 8 Operating System, which is expected to become available this fall, will help Windows-based tablets become more appealing to consumers.

Windows tablets currently account for only 2% to 3% of the global market, he added.

Windows 8 has a lot to worry Apple

Apple maker of the iconic iPad, was absent -- as usual -- from the Computex 2012 computer show this week, but despite that the company's influence was everywhere.

Showcasing this year at the show, one of the industry biggest annual trade gatherings, were tablets and personal computers powered by Microsoft's next-generation Windows 8 Operating System (OS).

Windows 8 is due for release later this year and considered in many ways the PC industry's response to Apple, which upended the traditional market with its mold-breaking tablet iPad and mobile software iOS.

Windows RT first hands-on preview

While Microsoft' Windows 8 was just about everywhere at Computex 2012, a few vendors also championed upcoming tablets running Windows RT, essentially Windows 8 running on ARM-based processors.

What we saw in demos from Nvidia, Qualcomm, and Texas Instrument was clearly not finished, but it was quite impressive and revealed interesting tradeoffs compared with Windows on traditional x86 architectures.

Windows RT is an exciting concept. 
It takes the Windows 8 experience and moves it onto the ARM architecture, but still looks pretty much like Windows 8. 

Developers who create Metro User Interface (UI) applications should be creating applications that work on both Windows 8 and Windows RT. 
The environment does have a desktop, just like in Windows 8, so the basic Operating System (OS) functions, such as file management, are very familiar. 

A look at Windows 8 Release Preview

Last week, Microsoft issued a "Release Preview" for the public to further test and evaluate the next version of its desktop operating system.

It reflects four more months of development and user feedback from the February "Consumer Preview," another word for beta test.

Compared to the Consumer Preview, the Operating System (OS) is much more complete.
It's not feature complete, as a new desktop theme that leaked out in March 2012, but you got a lot of new features like integrated Adobe Flash, all new starter apps, more customization of the Start screen, and a whole bunch of little tweaks here and there.

Samsung shows off the Series 5 Hybrid Windows 8 PC; perfect reminder of Asus Transformer

Samsung has launched its Series 5 Hybrid tablet/notebook PC at the Computex 2012 conference in Taipei.

The South Korean electronics giant touts its new tablet with slots for a keyboard dock similar to that of the Asus Transformer series of tablet-notebook hybrids, and it will run on the full version of Microsoft's Windows 8 x86 based architecture devices out of the box.

The most noteworthy hardware specification of both the tablet and dock are its magnetic connection, rather than the standard – and usually clunky – latch mechanism.

AMD looks at developing its own ultra-thin laptops

AMD has been a bit overshadowed at Computex this year by the onslaught of Intel-based ultrabooks.

But the company made some news of its own announcing its latest line of APUs, or Accelerated Processing Units.
In a press conference AMD executives pitched the company’s second-generation APUs as a better solution for affordable ultra-thin laptops.

The new E-Series APUs, code-named Brazos 2.0, are designed for budget notebooks and desktops.

There are two E-Series dual-core chips, the 1.4GHz E1-1200 and the 1.7GHz E2-1800.
The E2-1800 also has faster Radeon graphics.

MSI Slider S20 Windows 8 tablet / ultrabook quick preview

The thing that makes tablets so terrific for some people and so terrible for others is, unfortunately, what makes a tablet a tablet:
Its lack of a truly convenient keyboard.

At Computex 2012, MSI is demonstrating that those days may be gone for good.
The Slider S20 is a tablet with, as you may have guessed, a built-in keyboard that slides beneath it.

Cheating you say?
Maybe, at least according to the standards of Asus, which demonstrated its Transformer Book (with a removable tablet) before Computex even started.

But don't be too quick to judge:
According to MSI, the Slider S20 meets all of Intel's requirements for an ultrabook and has even been certified as such.
It's driven by a third-generation Core (aka "Ivy Bridge") processor, is based on the Chief River platform, and offers a multitouch 11.6" (1,366-by-768) display.

Windows 8 tablets make the show at Computex 2012

Computex 2012, so far has been full of Microsoft's Windows 8 tablets, ultrabooks and All in Ones.

This new genre of Windows 8 slates are looking to usher in a new genre of tablets cum ultrabooks with their keyboard dock and touch functionality.

Coupled with the productivity superiority of Windows, they look to put up a formidable fight against the lot of Google's Android and Apple's iOS devices.

Also, it’s not just the software they have, but the entire package – the design, the hardware, the features, which may further accentuate its appeal and demand amongst the masses.

From what has been announced so far, here’s our pick of the coolest Windows 8 tablets.

AMD teams up with Compal to present a Windows 8 tablet / ultrabook

We've seen Intel's vision for Microsoft's Windows 8 already, but don't count out AMD.

The company is showing off a Windows 8 tablet from Compal at Computex 2012 Taipei, and it's in the hot form factor of the moment — the detachable keyboard dock.

We spent some time with the 11.6" device, and while it's not the most attractive or thinnest (at "under 20mm") Windows 8 machine we've seen this week, we didn't have any complaints about the unspecified AMD chip's performance.
AMD also says that the tablet will have upgraded performance and thermal capability when in docked mode.