According to sources, Microsoft is set to officially launch Windows 8 on October 26.  This will be the day when new PCs with Windows 8 will be coming out, as well as the upgrade program that Windows recently revealed.  But aside from Windows 8 and Windows 8 PCs coming out, the Microsoft Surface Windows RT and Windows Pro tablets will also debut.  Theough we’re still weeks away from launch, vendors are already teasing consumers with a steady stream of Windows-based devices.

Samsung

The South Korean company unveiled ATIV S and the Series 5 and Series 7 Slate PCs.  The ATIV S is a Windows Phone 8 smartphone that features a 4.8-inch HD display, 1.5 gigahertz dual-core processor, HSPA+ support, and a 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera.  The Slate PC is a hybrid tablet/laptop that features a screen that pops off the keyboard to become a tablet, an 11.6-inch touch screen, full multi-touch trackpad, S-Pen, and runs on Windows 8.  The Series 5 has an Intel Atom Z2760 processor, 2GB of RAM, a 64GB solid state drive and Bluetooth 4.0, and will sell for $749 with the keyboard and $649 without the keyboard.  As for the Series 7, it will sell for $1,199 and features an Intel Core i5-3317U processor, front- and rear-facing cameras, 4GB of RAM, 128GB SSD and Bluetooth 4.0.  Both Slate PCs are slated to come out on October 26.

Sony

The Japanese company unveiled three Windows 8 Vaio devices at the IFA.  The Duo 11, T Series 13 ultrabook, and the Tap 20 all-in-one.  The Duo 11 is similar to the Microsoft Surface tablet as it also has a kickstand, a Core i7 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD.  The Tap 20 is a 20-inch tablet that appears to be similar to Apple’s iMac wherein you can attach a keyboard and a mouse to turn into a desktop pc or lay it flat on a tablet to have yourself a giant tablet.  It will be available in versions with either Ivy Bridge Core i5 or i7 processors.  Oh, and it weighs about five kilos, quite heavy for a tablet.

Asus

Asus’ new tablet is called Vivo Tab, which will be available in Windows 8 and Windows RT.  The Windows 8 version will come with an Atom processor while the Windows RT will come with a quad-core Tegra 3.  The Windows 8 version will have an 11.6-inch screen with the Vivo Tab RT has a 10.1-inch screen.

HP

Hewlett-Packard is not to be overshadowed by their Asian competitors.  They unveiled the HP Envy x2, a tablet similar to Asus’ Transformer line of tablets.  It features an 11.6-inch screen that attaches to a keyboard with a trackpad, an HDMI port, a full USB port, 1,366×768-pixel resolution,  Intel Atom Clover Trail processor, 64GB of on-board storage, 2GB of RAM, SD and microSD card slots, and an 8MP rear camera.  And because Windows 8’s user interface is best experienced when using a touch-based device, they’ve added a touchscreen and their TouchSmart technology to two of their ultrabooks, the Envy 4 and SpectreXT.