Items tagged with Windows 8
Microsoft is staying the course with Windows 8, the most drastic change to the Windows ecosystem since the introduction of XP, and though Windows Blue will introduce a few changes (and maybe even bring back the Start button), the touch-friendly design doesn't look like it's going anywhere. That's led to some negative reactions and press -- some of it justified and some of it way overblown -- but for now, Windows 8 is slowly and steadily increasing its share of the desktop OS market. The key word there is "slowly." According to NetMarketShare, Windows 8 increased its share to 3.82 percent in April, up from 3.17 percent a month prior and up from 1.09 percent in November 2012, a month after it launched....
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Raise your hand if you own a Windows 8 tablet. If we were to say that in a crowd of 100 tablet owners, less than 8 people would raise their hands, based on recent data supplied by Strategy Analytics, which figures Windows owns a 7.4 share of the global branded tablet OS market. One reason why Windows 8 slates may be having a tough time carving out a large user base could be due to price. If there's a bright side for Microsoft, it's that price is a short-term problem. Asus chief Jerry Chen told The Wall Street Journal that he's "very optimistic about sales for Windows 8 tablets this year," and he's drawing much of that optimism from his expectation that Windows 8 tablets will fall below $300 before...
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Amazon appears to be excited to show off Acer's upcoming Iconia W3 tablet, an unannounced Windows 8 slate with an 8.1-inch display (1280x800). Acer has yet to offer up a press release or otherwise unveil the 8.1-inch Windows 8 offering, but unless Amazon is getting a head start on April Fool's Day and is really good at Photoshop, the tablet exists, though when it will be available is anyone's guess. Right now the product page lists the Iconia W3 as being "Temporarily out of stock," though other details are readily available. Want to talk price? Amazon has it listed for $380, and it's eligible for Prime Member shipping. As for the specs, it's running a dual-core Atom Z2760 processor clocked at...
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After teasing the Aspire R7 in a Star Trek-themed ad, the PC maker has finally made the convertible laptop official. And it’s released a new YouTube video – one that goes into a little more detail about what the R7 is meant to be. Whether or not this laptop succeeds, the R7 is a bold move by Acer. As the video’s narrator explains, Acer was looking for a way to bring R7’s touch screen closer to the user so that it’s easier to take advantage of Window 8’s touch capabilities. It came up with the Ezel hinge, which is a stand that shifts the screen from the back of the laptop closer to the front. The result is that you can lift your fingers from the keyboard and...
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There are some interesting things happening in the tablet world. Perhaps the biggest development of all is that Apple's iPad family is finally starting to yield market share to the competition, and that's primarily due to the increasing number of affordable Android slates being pumped out by name brand manufactures. At first, pedestrian price tags were only attached to Android tablets in the 7-inch range, but more recently we've started seeing large slates come down in cost. One of the more intriguing options is the Asus MeMO Pad Smart 10, a 10.1-inch slate that streets for as little as $280, or about half the price of a regular sized iPad. Given that it's one of the least expensive 10.1-inch...
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There are some interesting things happening in the tablet world. Perhaps the biggest development of all is that Apple's iPad family is finally starting to yield market share to the competition, and that's primarily due to the increasing number of affordable Android slates being pumped out by name brand manufactures. At first, pedestrian price tags were only attached to Android tablets in the 7-inch range, but more recently we've started seeing large slates come down in cost. One of the more intriguing options is the Asus MeMO Pad Smart 10, a 10.1-inch slate that streets for as little as $280, or about half the price of a regular sized iPad. Given that it's one of the least expensive 10.1-inch...
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It's not entirely uncommon to see a major electronics maker using a major motion picture in order to promote new gear, but this may be one of the stranger mix-ups. Acer and Star Trek: Into Darkness have merged in a new 30 second avertisement that does a fairly good job of enticing viewers to check out both the film and whatever it is that Acer has up its sleeve. Judging by the Windows 8 icon at the end, it's possible that Microsoft is a third party in all of this, further using the new Acer notebook as a way to showcase the more unique abilities of Windows 8. Judging by the clip, it appears that whatever the machine is, it'll be a laptop when you want it to be, and perhaps a convertible tablet...
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Oh Microsoft, why must you be so coy? The Redmond software giant announced financial results for its fiscal third quarter, noting record revenue of $20.49 billion on operating income of $7.61 billion, net income of $6.06 billion, and diluted earnings per share of $0.72 per share, but once again opted to keep quiet regarding Windows 8 sales. Regardless of Windows 8, Microsoft has reason to be happy with its performance, especially with PC sales in a slump as consumer interest transitions to mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. “The bold bets we made on cloud services are paying off as people increasingly choose Microsoft services including Office 365, Windows Azure, Xbox Live, and...
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Big is always better, but small is in. So, what's a company to do? Both! Microsoft has the big-screen tablet market covered, with a litany of Windows RT and Windows 8 slates (not to mention the Surface range). But if Apple and Google have proven one thing, it's that people appreciate choice, and in particular, the choice of smaller tablets. 7" slates have grown hugely popular now that the iPad mini is a reality and devices like the low-cost Nexus 7 exist. Microsoft is clearly missing out on that market. But it may change that soon. On an earnings call today, Microsoft's outgoing CFO Peter Klein mentioned that Windows 8 was being engineered to run on devices with smaller screens, and that we'd...
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Initially showcased at CES, Lenovo's about to make "family time" a lot more fun with the IdeaCentre Horizon Table PC. Be careful not to confuse this with a "tablet." There's just one letter missing from the end, but it makes a huge (literally) difference. This giant, family-centric PC is now available for pre-order in the U.S., doubling as a Windows 8 touch-based PC for the home or office. The machine is slated to hit stores in "late June." Just lay Horizon flat in Table PC mode to activate the Aura interface and begin interacting with other people and favorite content, from photos and videos to apps and games. If you've ever played a classic arcade game on one of those tabletop units, you'll...
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One of the perks of working at a place like HotHardware is that we have access to some of the hottest computer components hardware around. So when I decided to dive into Windows 8 head-first a few months ago, I thought I’d give the OS as much breathing room as possible and install it on a freshly built, ultra high-end rig. Building myself a second system for Windows 8 while tweaking and getting accustomed to the OS’s new interface, and whatever other quirks popped up, would help me remain semi-productive before making the actual transition to the new machine. Before I show you the hardware I used for the build and discuss some of the issues that I had to contend with along the way,...
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One of the perks of working at a place like HotHardware is that we have access to some of the hottest hardware around. So when I decided to dive into Windows 8 head-first a few months ago, I thought I’d give the OS as much breathing room as possible and install it on a freshly built, ultra high-end rig. Building myself a second system for Windows 8 while tweaking and getting accustomed to the OS’s new interface, and whatever other quirks popped up, would help me remain semi-productive before making the actual transition to the new machine. Before I show you the hardware I used for the build and discuss some of the issues that I had to contend with along the way, I want to...
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If there's one thing that'll always get people riled up, it's change. Maybe it's a different season, a different color, or a different coach. If it's changing, you'll get opinions thrown your way that you never even asked for. That's certainly been the case with Windows 8, as Microsoft has changed quite a lot about its desktop OS, and in turn has received quite a lot of feedback. Overall, a lot of that feedback has been neutral to negative, particularly as it pertains to the home screen. Windows 8 attempted to bridge a divide between phone, tablet and desktop, but in doing so, it introduced a helping of the very thing it sought to reject: compromise. One of the major issues with the boot-up look...
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PC sales are slumping in a big way and there's plenty of blame to go around. Before get into that, let's have a look at how bad things really are. According to new data released by the International Data Corporation (IDC), global PC shipments totaled just 76.3 million units in the first quarter of 2013, down nearly 14 percent compared to the same quarter in 2012, and nearly twice as bad as IDC's previous forecast of a 7.7 percent decline. That represents the worst year-on-year contraction since IDC began tracking the PC market quarterly almost two decades ago. It's the same old story of tablets and smartphones continuing to eat away at traditional PC sales. Computer makers have tried to fight...
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