Windows 8 in the Tablet market

September 26, 2011
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It is certain that Microsoft have arrived in the tablet market following the successful footsteps of their competitors Apple. Microsoft brings their latest operating platform, Windows 8 to life in tablet form. The hardware distributors will probably be Samsung, Sony, Hp and Dell. From a software perspective: The operating software Windows 8 introduces you to the metro style user interface. Microsoft is to launch two different interfaces of windows 8 which are the desktop side and the metro side. The two most striking features of the metro user interface of Windows 8 are the personalization and the touch sensitivity. Both are very important and sophisticated features when you are thinking in the point of view of a tablet. When I talk about personalization, I refer to the user-friendliness of the interface. You can select from a variety of personalized locked screens using the metro user interface. Windows 8 also provides 3 login techniques which are:

  1. Standard password.
  2. Personalized picture password.
  3. PIN.
The second option of a personalized picture password allows you to select any kind of picture and you can provide three-touch gesture which points anywhere on the picture. Thus, when you touch all three points only then is the password unlocked. Microsoft, through windows 8 is heavily relying on the touch gestures. Navigation in the metro user interface is extremely snappy. As per reviews on the Samsung series 7 slate that boasts of having Windows 8, the touch gestures are extremely responsive. Simple swipes are all that is required for scrolling from left to right. Everything that works on windows 7 will work in windows 8. Windows 8 thus provides the desktop user interface to run most of your window 7 main applications such as Photoshop, Excel etc. However, Microsoft is relying on the success of the metro style user interface in the tablet market. With innovative techniques deployed in the Windows 8 OS, the tablets are certainly going to be fast, fluid and dynamic. The App store provided by Windows8 uses the sandbox technique to provide security. The sandbox technique has been made famous by Java. It limits access on the applications. It protects the underlying platform from any damage in case an application crashes. From a business perspective:
  • Microsoft has most certainly been a powerhouse in the PC market section. As the industry now decides to take on the tablet generation, will they survive or will they fade away? Apple, by far is the master of the tablet domain.
  • To compete with the iPad, the tablets boasting of Windows 8 OS will have to be in the price range of approximately $400-$500. The problem that Microsoft faces is they earn most of their revenue from license copies. In the tablet domain, if they plan to follow their same style as with the PC market, then the chances of Microsoft overtaking apple seems slim.
  • Apple creates and develops their own hardware and software. Microsoft on the other hand is only related to software. They earn by selling their software product’s original license. Microsoft can offer its operating software to a handful of hardware vendors whereas Apple cannot do the same. However since Apple sells the entire integrated product they capture the entire revenue of the device.
The PC industry is on the decline and this new generation of users is more inclined towards the tablet market. It is a fantastic decision by Microsoft to enter the tablet domain and boast of their new and creative Windows 8 Os. However, it is very certain that Microsoft has to come up with some new and strong marketing techniques to make the Windows 8 tablets a huge success.]]>

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Microsoft

Mike Johnson is a writer for The Redmond Cloud - the most comprehensive source of news and information about Microsoft Azure and the Microsoft Cloud. He enjoys writing about Azure Security, IOT and the Blockchain.

All Comments

  • I think your article is extremely short sighted and makes the same mistakes as I have seen so many bloggers make.
    Windows 8 is NOT competing with ipads and droids.  ipads and droids are NOT full blown computers.  They are overglorified media-players (take that with the hint of sarcasm it is meant, but you know very well what I mean).  You say that win8 tablets need to be in the 400-500 dollar range.  This is very wrong.
    ipads and droids need to be in that range because these devices are not capable of replacing a full blown pc.  A win8 tablet…. IS a full blown pc.  And the devices will most certainly be geared towards that.  From hybrids like the samsung sliding 7 to docks that have dual monitor output (and in time, perhaps even additional processing power).
    A windows 8 tablet can perfectly handle the same price as mid-range laptops (around 800 bucks) for that reason.  Completely buffed up tablets can even go to +1000 dollars.  These things will be just as capable as the quad core desktop I’m writing this post on.
    It is very, very wrong to put windows 8 nexto ios or droids for comparision purposes.  Very wrong indeed.
    To be honest here, there is no product in market today that can be compared to it.  Windows 8 is (or rather ‘will be’) the only system to offer a tablet experience through a fully powered OS.
    Imo, there is no sensible comparision to be made here.
    Also don’t forget that windows 8 is ONLY software.  ios is not.  It’s tied to small-screen idevices.  Mac OS is not since it’s tied to macbooks and mac desktops.
    Windows 8 isn’t.  It will be on whatever device a third party will create for it.

    Scientific Bob September 26, 2011 1:09 pm Reply
    • I agree with Bob here, don’t compare an orange to an apple.

      jpenberthy September 26, 2011 1:32 pm Reply
      • or mangos to jellybeans

        Supercool_in_iraq September 26, 2011 1:57 pm Reply
  • Another fact is that Windows 8 will surely kill the tablet market for competitors. Windows 98 will bring new hybrid products to the market like a labtop with removable (tablet)screen or a PC with removable (tablet)screen etc. If you buy a PC there will be no further need for a seperate tablet, because it’s a Tablet PC that can be used seperately. This is what Microsoft is hoping. These hybrid product are already being made (like the Asus transformer) and are very succesfull. Enterprise companies will love this. Apple and Google will find it difficult to compete on this level.

    Rikkirik October 12, 2011 7:47 am Reply

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