Microsoft Said to Be Launching New Windows for ARM Soon

Thursday, December 23, 2010

When the question is asked to Microsoft could compete with the ipad? well, it would appear that they may be trying in more ways then one.

According to report from Bloomberg, Microsoft will announce a version of windows that on ARM technology at the Consumer Electronics Show in early January. According to the report, which cites "two people familiar with Microsoft's plans" as the source, the software would be tailored to battery-powered devices like tablets and other handhelds.

We've seen other reports indicating that Microsoft would be unveiling some new tablets in a new effort to compete with Apple's hugely successful iPad.

Microsoft recently launched Windows Phone 7 to compete with Apple's iOS and Google's Android in the smartphone space. This week, the company finally revealed some info about sales of devices running this operating system. The company revealed that manufacturers sold 1.5 million phones in the first six weeks.

As our own Doug Caverly pointed out, Android's Andy Rubin rcently tweeted that over 300,000 Android phones were being activated every day, and Apple recently announced that it sold 14.1 million iPhones in the third quarter.

While the numbers on Windows Phone 7 might not be astonishing so far, the operating system did get some pretty good reviews, and I wouldn't write it off just yet. It will be very interesting to see if Microsoft emerges as a big part of the conversation in mobile computing over the next year.

What do you think? Can Microsoft take on Apple and Google in the mobile operating system realm?

4 Android tablets vie for your attention first to challenge the iPad

Tablets from Archos, Samsung and ViewSonic are among the first to challenge the iPad

After nearly a year of having the market pretty much to itself, Apple's iPad finally has some serious competition. The first Android-based tablets are starting to ship, and they will soon be followed by a wide variety of portable devices, some of which should give the iPad a run for its money.

To see how the first Android slates stack up against each other, I looked at four tablets: three with 7-in. screens -- the Archos 70 Internet Tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Tab and the ViewSonic ViewPad 7 -- and the 10-inch Archos 101 Internet Tablet. I also checked out HP's PhotoSmart eStation C510, an inkjet printer with a Zeen wireless Android tablet included.

Over two weeks, I had at least one of them with me for most of the day. I used each to write, read e-books, collect my e-mail and bounce between Web sites. I listened to Internet radio stations, played games and watched videos. I also ran a number of tests on each.

The Androids are coming -- finally
By next year, there could be as many as 15 different Android slates available, according to Anna Hunt, principal analyst at IMS Research. She forecasts sales of 36 million Android tablets by 2015, accounting for roughly 28% of the market. "With a variety of Android slates on the way," she says, "this market will grow and grow. This is just the start."

Hunt points out that the potential weak point of the new Android tablets might be software. At last count, Apple's App Store had 300,000 iPad programs available for download; users had downloaded 35 billion copies as of mid-October.

In contrast, the Android Market for downloading software has just over 100,000 programs available, and 2.3 billion copies were downloaded by the end of October, according to AndroLib, which tracks Android apps.

Once things really start moving, buyers should have more to choose from than just the iPad and Android devices. For example, as this was being written, there were rumors that new Windows-based tablets would be announced at the CES trade show in January, and RIM is touting its upcoming PlayBook, which will run on a Blackberry tablet operating system.

With all of those options to choose from, 2011 might end up being the year of the slate. The hardest part might be picking just one.

4 Android tablets: Features

	Archos 70	Archos 101	Samsung Galaxy Tab	ViewSonic ViewPad 7
Dimensions (inches)	7.9 x 4.5 x 0.5	10.7 x 5.9 x 0.5	7.4 x 4.7 x 0.5	7.1 x 4.4 x 0.5
Weight (oz.)	11.3	18.4	13.5	13 .3
Screen size/Resolution	7-in./800 x 480	10.1-in./1,024 x 600	7-in./1,024 x 600	7-in./800 x 480
Processor	1-GHz ARM Cortex A8	1-GHz ARM Cortex A8	1-GHz ARM Cortex A	600-MHz ARM 11
OS	Android 2.2	Android 2.2	Android 2.2	Android 2.2
RAM	256MB	256MB	512MB	512MB
Storage	8GB	8GB	2GB	512MB
Expansion card/Included?	Micro SD card/No	Micro SD card/No	Micro SD card/16GB	Micro SD card/No
USB	No	Yes	No	No/
Wi-Fi	802.11b/g/n	802.11b/g/n	802.11a/b/g/n	802.11b/g
3G Networks	None	None	Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, U.S. Cellular, T-Mobile	None
Cameras (megapixels)	0.3mp rear	0.3mp rear	3mp front, 1.3mp rear	3mp front, 0.3mp rear
GPS	No	No	Yes	Yes
Bluetooth	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Retail price	$250 - $430	$295 - $340	$400	$450 - $700