Tag Archives: windows rt

Switched On: Windows ReTreat

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Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

DNP Switched On Windows ReTreat

Today's hottest and best-selling tablets and smartphones have one thing in common: they are powered by ARM processors. Offered in such variations as NVIDIA's Tegra, Qualcomm's Snapdragon, Samsung's Exynos and Apple's A6, ARM processors dominate the leading edge of mobile products. At LG's recent announcement of its clever and well-appointed G2 smartphone, much was made of it being the first globally launched phone to include Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800; Android, in contrast, wasn't mentioned once. And the long reach of ARM extends far beyond the bleeding edge. The Hisense Sero 7 Pro -- recently cut to $129 just a few weeks after its launch -- has a Tegra 3 processor while ARM chips from Rockchip and MediaTek power Android tablets at even humbler price points.

For years, Intel has promised it would be competitive with ARM in terms of performance per watt (if not in price). It has made great strides both in its smartphone-focused Atom chips and its performance-oriented Core chips (including Haswell, the CPU behind the MacBook Air's huge gains in battery life), but those in the ARM camp have kept their processors' competitive heat up while keeping their generated heat down.

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ASUS pulls out of Windows RT due to financial losses and ‘industry sentiment’

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ASUS pulls out of Windows RT due to financial losses and 'industry sentiment'

This isn't a huge shock, given that ASUS has already publicly expressed woes about poor sales of its Windows RT products, but CEO Jerry Shen's latest comments have a surprising edge of finality to them. Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, he repeated that "Windows RT has not been very successful" and said that the company took a writedown on its stock of RT tablets, although he didn't reveal the size of the loss. He also said that, from now on, ASUS will solely make Windows 8 devices that run on Intel / x86 processors, due to the backwards compatibility with Windows software offered by those products. Meanwhile, NVIDIA has also predicted losses due to its involvement with RT, but it seems to be pushing ahead with a next-gen ARM-based Surface tablet regardless.

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Via: TNW

Source: WSJ

ASUS chairman: Windows RT results ‘not very promising’

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As ASUS goes full steam ahead in the smartphone space, prepping itself for an entry into the US market, the company has apparently done a rethink on its support for Windows RT. Chairman Jonney Shih told All Things D that, as far as the company's work with the Windows 8 offshoot goes, "the result is not very promising." Don't take that to mean that ASUS is set on completely abandoning the OS, but the future of ASUS Windows RT devices doesn't look particularly bright at the moment.

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Source: All Things D

OneNote for Windows 8 gains Office 365 integration, touch keyboard improvements

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OneNote for Windows 8 gains Office 365 integration, touch keyboard improvements

Hot on the heels of the recent iOS and Android overhaul of OneNote comes an update for the Windows 8 and Windows RT versions which adds Office 365 integration and touch keyboard improvements. The app is available in the Windows Store right now and lets you sign into your Office 365 school or work account and sync notebooks right from within the OneNote app. As for the touch keyboard, it's both invoked and dismissed by simply tapping into any empty space, which makes it easier to use. This allows you to switch seamlessly between inputting text and finger painting -- or basically, just focus on your notes. Hit the source link below for the update.

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Via: OneNote Blog

Source: Windows Store

Microsoft said to cut prices for OEMs who push Windows RT on small tablets

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Microsoft said to cut prices for OEMs who push Windows RT on small tablets

Acer has already managed to cram full Windows 8 into a $380 8-incher (shown above), but ARM-based Windows RT tablets have the potential to drive prices down even further -- if only someone, somewhere would see their merit. According to Bloomberg, Microsoft is now trying to help things along by offering discounts to OEMs who'll use RT in smaller tablets. The prices in question are confidential, so it's hard to gauge the likely impact for consumers, but with Dell's XPS 10 (shown above) still costing $400 with its dock, and with Surface RT fetching $500, there's definitely scope for improvement.

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Source: Bloomberg

Acer president sees ‘no value’ in building a Windows RT tablet right now

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Acer president sees no value in building a Windows RT tablet

Ever since Acer's Linxian Lang said that Microsoft would eat "hard rice" for building its own Windows RT hardware, the company has treated the operating system with something bordering on contempt. When asked about Acer's long-gestating RT device, Acer president Jim Wong said "to be honest, there's no value doing [hardware for] the current version of RT." Given the underwhelming interest in RT gear that other companies have reported, we're not sure if Wong's comments qualify as a sick burn or merely kicking an adolescent piece of software when it's down.

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Via: AllThingsD

Source: CITEworld

Strategy Analytics: Microsoft’s share of tablet market quadrupled after Windows 8

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Strategy Analytics Microsoft's share of the tablet market has quadrupled due to Windows 8

Say what you like about Windows 8, but before it arrived Microsoft's presence in the tablet sphere was as small as it was stagnant. By the reckoning of number-crunchers at Strategy Analytics, just 400,000 Windows-running slates were shipped globally in Q3 of last year -- a figure that was largely unchanged from the year before and which represented just 1.6 percent of the global tablet market. Six months later, now that the Windows-powered Acers, Lenovos and Surfaces of this world have had a chance to get their game on, Microsoft's share has quadrupled to 7.5 percent, with a total of 3 million Windows 8 and RT tablets shipped in Q1 2013. That's still pretty niche, but 3 million units would have equated to a bigger share were it not for the fact that the overall tablet market also grew over this period, from 25 million to 41 million units -- and at least Microsoft can now claim to be a part of that boom. Look past the break for the numerical breakdown.

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Via: CNET, Neowin

Source: Strategy Analytics

Samsung’s JK Shin: there’s ‘lackluster demand’ for Windows-based phones, tablets

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Samsungs JK Shin theres lackluster demand for Windowsbased phones, tablets

You don't need to be Captain Subtext to understand that a few manufacturers (and developers) aren't best pleased with Microsoft's latest mobile products. The latest to damn Redmond with faint praise is Samsung's newly-minted Co-CEO, JK Shin, who told The Wall Street Journal that demand for Windows-based phones and tablets isn't sending the company's accountants cross-eyed with glee. When asked about Samsung's relationship with Microsoft after the latter deepened its ties with Nokia, Shin said:

"Smartphones and tablets based on Microsoft's Windows operating system aren't selling very well. There is a preference in the market for Android. In Europe, we're also seeing lackluster demand for Windows-based products."

Which, naturally, has done nothing to scotch those persistent rumors of the ATIV Tab being axed in Europe as well as the US. The CEO added that we can expect to see a Tizen-based phone in the third quarter of the year, although Samsung will continue to flirt with every available OS for the needs of its customers.

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Via: The Verge

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Emulator Runs x86 Windows Apps on Windows RT Devices: A Window to the Full Windows

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I think that one of Microsoft’s biggest mistakes in recent years is Windows RT, and by extension the Surface RT. I’m not saying Windows RT devices are useless. It’s just that seen in the context of their release, they are products that can confuse and scare off potential Windows 8 users. Microsoft might be better off supporting this hack that lets full Windows programs run on Windows RT.

windows x86 emulator for windows rt by mamaichi

Xda-developers forum member mamaich is currently developing a program that enables Windows RT devices to run applications that were originally intended to run on the desktop version of Windows. In other words, it’s going to turn a Surface RT into a Surface Pro (with weaker hardware). Mamaich is aware and clearly states that even in its finished state, the program isn’t a cure-all. It won’t be able to launch some desktop applications simply because there are many hardware and software limitations in Windows RT devices. We do know that it can launch Heroes of Might and Magic 3, though.

Head to mamaich’s thread on the xda-developers forum to download or find out more about the program. Mamaich lays out the intricacies of the program in this particular post. This isn’t for the faint of heart though; the program is in beta and it requires you to jailbreak your Windows RT device.

[via Lifehacker]

Microsoft adds Live Tile support to SkyDrive on Windows 8 and RT

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Microsoft adds live tile support to SkyDrive on Windows 8 and RT

This is likely not the biggest change SkyDrive will ever see, but Microsoft's still confident that Windows 8 and RT users of its cloud service are going to benefit from the latest tweak. And why wouldn't they, right? Earlier today, the Redmond-based company announced it's brought support for Live Tiles to the SkyDrive application on both Windows 8 and RT, with its main purpose being to show notifications rather than only being useful for launching the app. Naturally, this means folks will now be able to see relevant messages within the tiles when they make certain account modifications, including things like adding new files and quick previews of recently uploaded pictures. According to Microsoft, the novel feature will be available today, but it is rolling out gradually, so fret not if you're not seeing it pop up just yet.

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Source: Windows Blog