Can Microsoft Windows 8 Tablets Really Make a Dent in Apple iPad Sales? Discussion

[dceggert]

Does anyone here feel that Microsoft's failure to gain significant market share with Windows Phone 7 portends bad things for its chances of success with ARM tablets?

Jamison,
I was a long time user of the Windows Mobile PDA before stepping up a bit in size to a TabletPC. My old PDA's would do almost everything my TabletPC does but with a 4" screen instead of a 10.1". My advice to you is to get a hold of an HP 21x series PDA off eBay and see what I mean. It would make for a great case study leading up to a Windows Phone 7 re-examination. You could use it to form a basis for not only Phone 7 but also Win 8 for ARM when it comes out.

Now, with that said, realize that Microsoft has been making ARM based 'Windows' machines since about 1995 in the form of said PDA OS. The 'Windows' has been Windows CE, or in later iterations, Windows Mobile. Microsoft has a lot of experience with ARM based Windows already, and I would not be surprised if 'Windows 8 for ARM' is not just a rehash of Windows CE with the new Metro home screen with drivers to handle larger screens. They already have the infrastructure, the 'apps', and the track record of making it all work together.

So, why am I here if all this worked for so long (I gave up my PDA in 2005 for a HP TC1100 and immediately liked the machine but wished it were 5" instead of 10.4")? Why not just use a Windows Phone 7?

What Microsoft did was abandon the PDA market to get into smartphones thinking that was where the money was moving. Strike 1 - the PDA OS was no longer supported and they lost miserably in that market. Microsoft then came out with Windows Phone 7 - Strike 2 - they walked away from the major reason for having the PDA device in the first place...a mobile computer.

When Microsoft insisted that Mobile Office go 100% 'cloud' based it lost me and many others as a user. I cannot store my documents in the cloud, it is a breech of corporate security.

This all sounds like I only use this technology for corporate use only; I do not. But I do mingle work and home together with Scouts and other groups that store sensitive material (SS numbers, photos, address lists, etc.) that shoud not be in the cloud either. The idea of having useful technology is to use it and Phone 7 cannot work for me. If Microsoft made Phone 7 be able to store information on SD card, even if it were micro-SD, I would have one in a heartbeat.

So in my case, Phone 7 is a waste of effort and it does not surprise me it is not being adopted faster.

What if Microsoft touted a 4" ARM based tablet running Windows 8 for ARM that would store things on an SD card, have handwriting recognition, run for 3 days without charging, play your music, browse the web, have Facebook apps, Google apps, games up the wazzu, and fit in your pocket...sound cool? Buy a HP 21x PDA, it is OLD TECH!

Edit: I just decided to keep my HP 211 instead of selling it. When Windows 8 for ARM is released I am going to try to squeeze it on it! I have already tried Linux (it is useless for that little device) and I understand there are those with Android running on them now, but how cool would it be to use the old ARM PocketPC with Win 8 on it?

[Steve B]

If users will be unable to run "real" Windows applications on ARM Win8 tablets, then yes, I think it will be dead in the water as a way for Microsoft to enter the tablet market. It is that functionality in a mobile, light, easy to use, touch enabled device with good battery life that makes Win8 exciting. We'll see.

Edit: Dceggert, that tablet description above sounds like a Galaxy Note- just running Win8 instead of Android. That's the kind of market Win8 could be getting into. Just think how much more awesome some of these phone/tablets would be if they ran Win8, or atleast the Win8 I hope is coming out. It's not the tech that's the issue- it's the OS and general functionality.

[Bronsky]

I just decided to keep my HP 211 instead of selling it. When Windows 8 for ARM is released I am going to try to squeeze it on it! I have already tried Linux (it is useless for that little device) and I understand there are those with Android running on them now, but how cool would it be to use the old ARM PocketPC with Win 8 on it?

Should I go digging in the closet for my old Compaq Ipaq 3630? I had a really nice leather case that was modified to hold an SD card.

[bloodycape]

Lol, I had a HP ipaq(forget what model it was) that was running WM 2003SE, that has a camera with a flash on it, and doubled as a universal remote all on a nice 3.5in screen. I really miss devices like that, and I hope Win8 can bring some of that back for me, but in a larger 8-9in screen and with multi-touch capacitive screen.

[heatlesssun]

Does anyone here feel that Microsoft's failure to gain significant market share with Windows Phone 7 portends bad things for its chances of success with ARM tablets?

One of the BIGGEST problems for Windows Phone is the number of phones, indeed there is still only ONE Windows Phone available on both Verizon and Sprint.

Windows 8 will not have that problem.

[dstrauss]

Gadget Lust - an uncontrollable desire to own a techno product you don't "really" need. Well, it hit me right between the eyes with the Samsung Series 7 Slate this morning. Finally got my delivery: ladies and gentlemen it is gorgeous and if it is ANY kind of representative of the near future Win 8 x86 and ARM tablets, WINDOWS IS BACK!

You have to experience this thing to understand how amazing it appears and feels. Yes, it is .51" thick, but just like the iPad 1 that is hidden by curved inward edges. Folks, this thing is about 1/8" thicker, 1/2" wider, and 1" narrower (top to bottom) than THE SCREEN on my HP 2740p tablet. Its has an i5 processor, 4gb RAM, and 128gb SSD, AND LONGER BATTERY LIFE, in that small of a shell. I can't even imagine what will be coming out next fall with the general release of Win8.

Microsoft is only 2/3 of the way there though (and since this is only Win 7 at this time, I may be overly euphoric - no, not really). IF (the big IF) Microsoft Metrofies OneNote and the rest of Office 2010, and REALLY pushes OneNote as the killer app for their new platform, they will give even the vaunted iPad a run for its money. And now that Sammy has proven that Wacom can come in a small slide in stick (Galaxy Note) we can once again have silos in our tablets.

Yes, I am jazzed! No, it can't be as small as the Slate 500, but that right now is a screen res question caused by Microsoft in order to ensure it will get split window treatment. Folks, if you have a Microsoft brick and mortar store in your neighborhood, race down there and see it for yourself. Yes, it is pricey if you missed the 25% off blowout sale at year end ($1299 retail vs $974 - however, if you order online comes with the dock, saving you $100, and a $200 coupon for next order - eg, Office 2010 for free), but they got (or are getting) it right.