Dell's Secret Weapon Against iPad Will Be Windows 8

[halcyon]

Dell, I like you...always have. ...but good luck.

 

[hoof_hearted]

If it can support Steam and allow a Bluetooth Mouse and Keyboard ... Skyrim and ME3 on the go .... If it can overcome the controller and GPU horsepower aspect in this way, then I am sold.

 

[marclee37]

this will sell like windows phone. this doesn't interest me. windows way is slow, not as direct as android. os on handheld device has to be light weight and fast. tablet/ phone is a whole new platform, doesn't necessarily to apply the old windows way. new better software are developed everyday.

 

[emperorxyz]

[citation][nom]3244324324[/nom]It seems that companies are desperately trying to turn tablets into laptops, first by introducing clip on keyboards like the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer and now by making them run full PC software like Windows.The iPad isn't a success because its a small PC. Its a success because its a blindingly simple device for doing basic tasks like reading, browsing, email, Facebook, etc.The tablet market is more like the console market in terms of where the profits are going to be so I struggle to see how OEMs can complete when they don't control the software.[/citation]

While your underlying argument about the success of the iPad is very much true, it is only natural for people to just want more out of their devices. I mean once people get a taste of how it easy it is to surf, email, Facebook and consume entertainment on an iPad, they will want even more out of it and they will also want the same ease for work related activities. I mean look at the history of the computer. It started out as a giant calculator. If people were just satisfied with just crunching numbers, we would never have PCs.

The iPad's success is undeniable and Apple was able to tap into a specific need in the market. Now, the demand for this kind of computing is strong for the workplace environment and I think Windows 8 will have quite an advantage there.

 

[daglesj]

[citation][nom]kawininjazx[/nom]So what do you do when you get a virus?I know people like us can avoid them or remove them, but the general public probably get infected twice a year on their PC, so they can't just surf around like on iOS and Android.[/citation]

Good point actually. I hope the HDD/SSDs are removable as I wouldn't want to try to clean off a sealed tablet.

 

[daglesj]

[citation][nom]hoof_hearted[/nom]If it can support Steam and allow a Bluetooth Mouse and Keyboard ... Skyrim and ME3 on the go .... If it can overcome the controller and GPU horsepower aspect in this way, then I am sold.[/citation]

I think what you are looking for is called a laptop or notebook.

 

[dingmatt]

[citation][nom]marclee37[/nom]this will sell like windows phone. this doesn't interest me. windows way is slow, not as direct as android. os on handheld device has to be light weight and fast. tablet/ phone is a whole new platform, doesn't necessarily to apply the old windows way. new better software are developed everyday.[/citation]

Well its obvious you neither used a windows phone 7 phone or tried the windows 8 pre-release.
On both the metro interface is direct and faster than anything currently available on the Android OS.

Grow up and stop the Microsoft hate

 

[plastichairball]

Using a Dell Latitude E6420 with Windows 8 was actually surprisingly good. The OS was responsive and did everything right from a business and support point of view. There was a lot of learning where MS had moved certain buttons and functions with the new OS, but once that was overcome I was very pleased with it's performance and functionality. The touchscreen was brilliant, and the added functionality of a full keyboard made typing emails and long documents MUCH better than on a tablet.
Will a combination of Dell and Windows 8 defeat the almighty Apple? Well, I have to say I own a Streak which I think is a fantastic device.....but Dell dropped that quicker than a hot potato and left many owners out in the cold. Needless to say, it will be hard to trust again.

 

[subaru41]

[citation][nom]dingmatt[/nom]Well its obvious you neither used a windows phone 7 phone or tried the windows 8 pre-release.On both the metro interface is direct and faster than anything currently available on the Android OS.Grow up and stop the Microsoft hate[/citation]

+ 1.

 

[halcyon]

[citation][nom]marclee37[/nom]this will sell like windows phone. this doesn't interest me. windows way is slow, not as direct as android. os on handheld device has to be light weight and fast. tablet/ phone is a whole new platform, doesn't necessarily to apply the old windows way. new better software are developed everyday.[/citation]
I've been thinking kinda the same thing. Maybe Win8+ will eventually take off in the enterprise...but by then iOS and Android Luscious Licorice will have solved many of the existing issues interfering with more wide-spread enterprise adoption.

 

[eddieroolz]

Yes, the tablet market is still very much wide open, for someone like me cannot settle with a substandard iOS/Android tablet.

 

[halcyon]

[citation][nom]eddieroolz[/nom]Yes, the tablet market is still very much wide open, for someone like me cannot settle with a substandard iOS/Android tablet.[/citation]
...and for the those, no matter how few, of you that feel that way there will be Win8 tablets.

 

[daglesj]

Windows 7 is the Enterprise OS of choice. Thats been set in stone for several years. It's the natural cycle of things since they all went NT for Y2K.

Uptake of 8 will be at Vista levels at best. MS is hoping that familiarity of Metro takes place in the home with Windoes 8/9/10 (if MS keeps up with its current release schedule) so that there is greater acceptance with 11 or 12 in the next corporate upgrade cycle around 2019.

 

[CaedenV]

[citation][nom]damianrobertjones[/nom]This will not fail. It's shiny, new, can run pretty much anything you throw at it (x86) and people will buy.[/citation]
Yep, the x86 version will be able to run all of the existing XP/Vista/7 software on the market which will make most businesses fall in love immediately, and the new Atom CPUs with their much improved graphics will make x86 affordable and viable over the current crop of ARM chips. I have been playing with win8Dev and CP on my touch screen netbook and I think people will love it for its ease of use, great touch capability, and ease of typing with the split keyboard. My only real complaint is the resolution requirement for metro being higher than the desktop. I mean really... Metro is stupid-low res, there is no reason to require such a high setting to let things run on it, and things are way more complicated on the desktop side and I have no problems at all on that.

The trick will be to sell the x86 version below the price of the iPads, which we all know they won't. I bet they will charge the same as the iPad for the ARM tablets, and then charge $50-100 more for the x86. That price point is where they are going to shoot themselves in the foot.

 

[devanhorn]

As much as I drool and gawk at the iPad2-3 I have never purchased one. I do digital art, design and photography and the iPads are pretty much useless in that vein. No USB, SD slot and undewhelming performance. It is awesome for WIFI, hotspotting, movies, reading and lot of other nifty stuff (which is what it is designed for), but not for real working applications. That is why I lug around a 6.5 pound laptop.

However, If Dell (or anybody) could could make something like a Wacom Cintiq integrated into a Win tablet at less than 2.5 pounds then nearly every engineer, artist, architect, photographer, etc. in the world would rush to get one, and I could get rid of my fricking laptop!

 

[halcyon]

...I don't know. I like using my iPad for content consumption....but for anything that a laptop would be faster for I'd rather use my MacBook Pro. The new iPad is a winner but i'm not ready to give up my Macs just yet.

 

[rantoc]

[citation][nom]dingmatt[/nom]Grow up and stop the Microsoft hate[/citation]

Haters always gonna hate but its sad when its based on assumptions that have very little to do with reality. Owned a iphone, its been collecting dust when my company bought new Nokia lumias with wp7. Didn't thought the wp7 would be any better than the ios but darn were i mistaken. Its easy to navigate with a very logic system as well as fast and smooth to use. If ms manage to get more devs into the bandwagon ill toss my private iphone away for good.

 

[tomaz99]

[citation][nom]dthx[/nom]I own one of those Windows 7 laptops with a capacitive touchscreen that you can convert into a tablet (hp touchsmart tm2) and using Win7 with a touchscreen works much better than I ever expected. The obsolete architecture of this PC is a bit obsolete making it thick, warm, heavy and the battery life (4-5 hrs) compares quite badly with good tablets. But overall, it's quite nice (there are small changes in the GUI that make it finger friendly and it does the job quite well). Plus you can enjoy fully featured applications and a real office suite that doesn't mess-up the layout of you excel files when you save them... (I tried both iOS and Android suites and they still have a looong way to go).Such a system, backed with modern hardware would work very well and make all those iPads look like a joke (I own one, so I guess I can criticize without been qualified as a MS Fanboy). Still, I am convinced as well that many "average" users will still buy iPads and Android tablet because they have are perceived as "cool, fun and easy to use" while Microsoft is perceived as work or business related... I am confident Dell will sell it quite OK, but if they believe that it will outsell iPads, I'm afraid they will have a chock on their first sales review...[/citation]

I agree. I purchased the same one for my wife a couple years ago and it's great. The touch interface isn't as intuitive or refined as modern tablets and it does get hot but when it's time to do real work we use this as opposed to our tablet (HP Touchpad CM9)...plus it's two years old so a modern iteration may/will probably be much improved.

 

[ta152h]

[citation][nom]bystander[/nom]I don't know if you are aware, but Win 8 is being developed on ARM as well. It won't be released this year, which is why the initial Win 8 devices are x86, but if you look at the new Atom benchmarks and power draw, they are doing very well in those departments now.[/citation]

The big problem is the level of control. Apple has control from beginning to end, and can create a synergy between hardware and software that Dell can't. Dell doesn't have an ARM license, so has to use someone else's chip. Apple can develop their own if they wish. Apple can match their OS to their hardware very specifically, not create a bloated OS that needs to interface fairly effectively with different pieces of hardware that other vendors might have.

I'm not convinced W8 on ARM is going to be popular, or if it's a good thing if it is. It will create confusion because you'll need two different versions of an app, and that's not a good thing.

x86 is inherently inferior. It adds overhead that ARM does not have, and while it may have some times when it is competitive, overall it's the wrong instruction set. For everything. Intel's manufacturing surely helps a lot though, and for desktops it's worked because power isn't as important and penalty manageable, but for mobile devices, the penalty is greater.

 

[pocketdrummer]

[citation][nom]TA152H[/nom]If Windows is your secret weapon, you'd better be a pacifist. Apple owns everything with the iPad, and they dominate. Companies that put together some Frankenstein by taking an OS from here, and then being stuck on x86, aren't winning in this arena. Apple can underprice them because they don't need to pay for Microsoft bloat (they have their own bloat, but so far don't seem to have infected tablets with it), don't get stuck on the Atom , and have so much more flexibility from generation to generation, as well as lower costs. Samsung might be able to compete with Apple, but Dell using Windows 8 does not look like it's going to be successful.[/citation]

Cute. Stupid... but cute.

Personally, I still think tablets are nearly useless. They're a pain to type on, and they don't run any useful applications apart from simple internet nonsense and gimmicky software.

At least this will allow you to run native windows applications as long as they are touch friendly. Still, I'd rather use something with a keyboard that allows me to replace the ram/hdd/etc whenever I see fit.