Gadgets, Tech, etc. - The Bear and Badger

[Deleted User]

I like the built in keyboard but there are already cases with built in keyboards for other tablets, its more a step forward more than a revolution.

The proper OS with proper adobe suite idea interests me. I have been eyeing up wacom screen things, if this could do the same it would be cool.

isanbard

As Elm (I think??) mentioned earlier I'm in too deep with Apple now, invested too much across iPhones and Macbooks and the rest.Â
There's no doubting this could be good but I suspect will be too pricey for what I would spend on a tablet for the useful one. The Arm looks like the iPad but with near zero app support currently, the decent one looks like the MacBook air. Hmmmm

Carbon_Altered

Want

I think it looks really nice. Still can't quite justify the form factor though (also the problem I have with the ipad). Laptop infront of the telly, 7" touchscreen on the loo, phone when out and about and I'm sorted.

Rev

Has anyone had any experience in using a third party PS3 pad?Â
I'm really finding it difficult to justify the 40 bucks to get an official one.Â
though If you lot say its the only way to go , then ill guess ill just have to bite the bullet.

Mod74

djchump wrote:

NB - seems the two versions are quite radically different (could be confusing for the punters). WinRT - ARM chip and cut down OS will only run Metro apps,Â
1366 x 768 res according to Engadget? So basically a big winphone, the way a ipad is a big iphone. I can see resolution and software support being problems.

Win RT is a completely different OS to Windows Phone.

The Store is identical between WinRT and Win8, so when it launches and is being installed on millions of PCs, app support won't be a problem in the slightest.

The only way it would be a problem is if companies didn't want to write apps for Windows, and that's not going to happen.

Mod74

JMW wrote:

They really do seem to relish a good kicking. Windows phone/Zune levels of market penetration here we come.

Who knows what penetration that particular model of Windows tablet will have or what they're aiming for. I'm willing to bet it'll be higher than the 5% two decades of selling the Mac has garnered.

Unlikely

Yeah, go Microsoft!

I hope they've put a little more thought into this than HP did with their effort.

isanbard

Agreed. I don't see the support as a problem per se but it seems they're going to have to go from zero with all the Win8 Metro system. Surely it will take time?
It could happen but Apple have already pushed that home market pretty well so unless it appears to be new and different why would Joe Blogs trade in the iPad for the same thing with a floppy prop thing on the back? MS do seem to be trying to Apple-yfy their range and push into that area. As long as they don't nuke their market with Win8 on desktop it could work; if companies can live with the costs of re-educating everyone ("there is no Start buttonâ€¦" Â The new IT bod mantra?) then it could go well.Â
It seems a good deal of feedback at this stage is to perhaps wait out with Win7 (a lot of corporates still run XP don't they?) and see how Win9 goes. Win8 could well be a Win Me/Vista as a transition thing. If so then these tablets could be a bit stillborn yetâ€¦ do look promising mind.

MattyJ

The most recent iPads cost Â£400, they need to launch at a lower price point than that in order to get an impact I reckon.

Mod74

They'll sell them at near to cost or make a loss. The margins on an iPad are razor thin.

EDIT: not forgetting of course they won't have to pay Microsoft for a licence.

isanbard

I heard (BBC radio this morning perhaps?) they suggested that they'd be releasing at an iPad price point. That'd be the RT one then; groovy. As long as they've put enough wasabi up devs backsides and hit the app ground running (lots of ads and promo too) perhaps that is going to be the best way to get the desktop Win8 installed. As long as folks have an idea of where stuff has gone it could go ok. I haven't had a go at Win8 yet as I can't rustle up any space for a partition but most reports seem to suggest it is quite a lurch for the well established, non-nerd punter. Creative? Dangerous? Inspired? Foolish?Â

Perhaps they could go right down to razor margins (just below iPad maybe??) to get that exposure to the Metro Â out there? It looks like a snazzy touch system. It'll be interesting to watch at the very least.

Mod74

I think the danger was 3rd party manufacturers would go at Windows tablets half assed or way too expensively. Which is understandable as the Windows tablet market doesn't really exist yet.

Win8 and the touch interface is a massive massive bet for MS, possibly the biggest they've ever made.

You can see how no fucking way they were going to leave its chances of success in the hands of other companies. They made that mistake with WinXP tablet edition 10 years ago.

(you can see threads of this "not leaving it to chance" thinking with the Nokia partnership as well, by the by)

Nexx

It looks interesting but then so so did Windows Phone 8 or whatever they called it.

I saw a comment from one of the devs saying that these could run Civilization 4 and 5 so I'd probably get one just so I don't have to stop playing when going to the loo...

I thought it was interesting that when mentioning launch details in the keynote that they specifically only mentioned the US. This could end up being another Zune that isn't sold outside of the US.

monkey

Giving 3rd parties an OS and hoping they'll build an ipad killer hasn't worked out for Android. This is a better bet.

The Today programme had this tablet as a headline item this morning. Its really only MS and Apple that are able to command that sort of attention and probably as good a reason as any why this will be the number 2 tablet. Win 8 tablets as a whole could well outnumber iOS tablets in a few years if businesses start bulk buying.

Not for me though. Not unless they xbox-ify it to within an inch of its life.

monkey

Mod74 wrote:

The margins on an iPad are razor thin.

They're around the 40% mark aren't they?

djchump

@Nexx
It's gonna be a bit of a wait - AFAIK a few months til Win8 and only the RT version, then 3 months or something til the decent WinPro tablet.

I guess it works as a teaser before more info leaks - kinda presume that at some point it was slated for a big E3 reveal as a SmartGlass option but that they couldn't pull it together in time. Must be kicking themselves for that if it's the case.

Bit of a squib announcing but not having it available to punters - IMHO it would have been better to follow the Apple format of "here's our shiny new all-singing power gizmo - available NOW at the website store", but then I guess they're planning a huge push for Win8 and they don't want to cannibalise hype for that, or lose impact through leaks maybe. Then again, leaks never seem to affect Apple too much and seem almost part of the pre-announcement hype sequence.

Mod74

I guess the idea is to get out in front and plant the product in peoples minds who were considering an iPad (or a new laptop) but think this might suit them better.

It's only really a couple of months we're talking about. About the same as most other manufactuers use (excluding Apple obviously).

Apple obviously sell lots of iPads 4 months after launch so I'm not 100% convinced by the need to announce one day and sell the next, other than it generating lots of hype. Xmas (or January for PCs) is the big buying period.

djchump

True true - we'll see how the launch pans out.Â

Still feel they could have generated shit loads more buzz announcing / showing at E3 with some kind of SmartGlass implementation - everyone was dying for interesting hardware, so even if it wasn't the xbox720 it would have got lots of attention. Guess MS marketing dept know their demographic better than me though, still, seems like lots of mixed messages what with them going on about how strong the Xbox and Live brands are, but then shuffling this announce into it's own presentation. Presume it was to shirttail Apple's launch announcement shows.

Mod74

I suspect it was to try and spoil any Google ones.

It might seem strange but I don't actually think this is a direct iPad competitor. It seems very business focussed, both with the OS and the hardware.

Apple and MS are tacit good buddies united in their hatred for the Googs. I'm sure they'd be more than happy with a 50/50 split of the tablet market.

djchump

Yeah, depending well Win8 goes down with IT depts (hopefully better than Vista) and how tight the desktop /network Win8 integration is with both SKUs of the Surface tablet thingy, could be a ThinkPad successor in Business.Â
Quite a good idea for business appeal; enhance the appeal of Win8 for the desktops machines and also flog them a bunch of tablets, but then kinda ties the success of the tablet with how well Win8 does and positions the tablet as a PC accessory, rather than iPad's gateway drug to Mac computers.

Mod74

There's some connection but you don't need to upgrade your entire PC fleet to Win8 to start using Win8 tablets. Or shift your entire company to Macs to start using iPads for that matter, but hey.

Bollockoff

Went in an O2 shop today price shopping and getting contracts explained to me for the aforementioned phone. Got told that the Galaxy actually feels a bit flimsy and the guy recommended the latest model of HTC phone. Seems quite good. And don't have to pay Â£99 on top of tariff unlike the Galaxy.

Scotswahey

The new HTC is better than the Galaxy S3. For the limited improvements over the S2 you'd be better off just getting the S2 and saving your money. They aren't flimsy phones at all in my experience.

Does anyone know if you can still get phones with physical keyboards like the xperia mini? My ex prefers that but doesnt want a blackberry.

mistercrayon

Dunno if they still sell it but there's an HTC with a keyboard. Desire z?

Bollockoff

Scotswahey wrote:

The new HTC is better than the Galaxy S3. For the limited improvements over the S2 you'd be better off just getting the S2 and saving your money. They aren't flimsy phones at all in my experience. Does anyone know if you can still get phones with physical keyboards like the xperia mini? My ex prefers that but doesnt want a blackberry.

Cheers. Looks like i'll be getting some form of HTC. Never heard of the company before.

WorKid

Galaxy S3 is better than HTC One X. Wouldnt disagree that S2 is bang for buck winner. Scots, my wife loves her Note, no physical keyboard but well worth investigating. Bollockoff, are you tied to O2? I would see an indie like Carphone Warehouse or Phones4U. Also as I said above, Orange Swappables are great free bolt-ons. That's why I went with Orange over O2.

Rev

I'm rocking a lumia 800. No a bad phone at all. The surface seems more attractive after knowing how well the OS on the Nokia does.

Mod74

I love my Lumia. Best phone I've had since the original iPhone.

Bollockoff

WorKid wrote:

Galaxy S3 is better than HTC One X.

In what way? Just trying to get everything covered.

Wouldnt disagree that S2 is bang for buck winner. Scots, my wife loves her Note, no physical keyboard but well worth investigating. Bollockoff, are you tied to O2? I would see an indie like Carphone Warehouse or Phones4U. Also as I said above, Orange Swappables are great free bolt-ons. That's why I went with Orange over O2.

I've never had a problem with O2 and i've no interest in sport, so those packages arn't really of any interest to me. Plus I know someone who works in the local O2 shop and kind of made a verbal promise i'd go to them for the sale......

djchump

There's some internal wifi antenna issues with one if the HTC One X models - think the LTE one was okay or something. Give it a google first before shelling out.

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