UPDATED 12:07 EDT / AUGUST 14 2012

New OEMs for Microsoft, More Tablet Details Revealed

Microsoft unveiled the Surface tablet back in June, which raised a few eyebrows but still managed to intrigued consumers and pundits alike.  The surprising thing about the tablet is that it’s made by Microsoft and not other OEMs, as expected.  But that doesn’t mean the software giant was going to snub OEMs in their effort to knock down Apple’s iPad reign in the tablet race.

So who will be Microsoft’s partners in flooding the market with Windows RT tablets?

In a blog post authored by Microsoft’s vice president of its Ecosystem and Planning team Mike Anguilo, it was stated that Dell, Lenovo, and Samsung are already designing PCs that will run on Windows RT aside from Asus which already unveiled the Asus Tablet 600 (Windows RT) at the Asus Computex 2012.

If you’re wondering why there’s not a lot of OEMs who partnered up with Microsoft for Windows RT-based tablets, it’s because there’s a huge chance that their offerings will take a backseat when it launches alongside the Surface tablet.  HP was rumored as one of Microsoft’s Windows RT partners, but was said to have pulled out the tablet software from their next line of tablets.  The reason for doing so may be due to the pricing advantage that Microsoft will have over other OEMs, since they won’t have to pay a licensing fee to use the software in order to offer their tablets cheaper.

Improved Surface tablet

When the Surface tablet was launched, the features announced were a bit vague but Microsoft covered the general features such as having  a 10.6” ClearType Full HD DIsplay, a front LifeCam for chatting and a rear LifeCam angled at 22⁰ meant for recording videos, a micoSD slot, USB port and other details.   And the recent post from Anguilo shed some new light as to what the Windows RT tablets can offer.

Not just for tablets – Windows RT is not solely meant for tablets as OEMs are designing tablets that come with physical keyboard and touchpad solutions.  So even if you’re using your tablet as a PC, you can fully enjoy all the features of Windows RT.  In short, Windows RT is not just a touch-based software.

Connected Standby – This feature allows your tablet to be always on and always connected without draining the battery of your device.

“When your Windows RT PC is not in use, it will move into a new low-power mode that allows it to keep your data fresh and current while also not requiring a battery charge for days. And when you need your system, it will turn on in less than a second at the touch of a button, which is a mobile phone experience but in a full PC,” Anguilo described.

Fast and Fluid touch – since Microsoft and OEMs are working closely to make tablets and PCs to run smoothly with Windows RT, they’re making sure that everything is fast and fluid touch-based or otherwise.

Longer battery life – From the tablets Microsoft and the OEMs have tested, the battery lasted 8 hours to 13 hours of scenario run time when playing an HD video at full resolution with a screen brightness of 200 nits.  And on connected standby, the tablets lasted somewhere between 320 hours to 409 hours of scenario run time with a configured e-mail account using Microsoft network.

NFC – Sharing photos, URLs, map directions, etc. is as simple as tapping two NFC-enabled Windows RT tablets.

Peripheral support – Windows RT tablets can support a wide range of peripherals and connections such as USB mass storage, printing, audio/video peripherals, as well as connectivity through WWAN, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and USB.

Thinner and lighter – Windows RT tablets will utilize single-chip designs to facilitate lower power usage and reduced thermals which means the tablets will have smaller battery sizes thus fostering thinner and lighter tablets.  The weight range of Windows RT tablets is between 520g to 1200g – some may be lighter than the new iPad while some may weigh as much as two iPads.  As for the length, it’s somewhere between 263 mm (10.3 inches) to 298 mm (11.73 in.).

Entering the hardware business can take its toll on Microsoft as OEMs may soon realize that they cannot compete with them in terms of prize.  Microsoft will have the upper hand on pricing as they can offer their tablets at a really low price.  But not everyone is keen on owning a Microsoft branded piece of hardware since they’re not really known for that, so enlisting OEMs as partners is a great move for the software giant.  Even if the Surface tablet doesn’t do well in the market, they can still rely on OEMs to push their newest software.


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