Displaying items by tag: Windows RT

Microsoft will never learn it seems. On top of making core changes to their OS there are now trying to spin those changes as simply responding to customer feedback. The problem with this stance is that this feedback has been around since before the launch of Window 8 and Microsoft not only ignored it, but told the critics that they would get used to it. Microsoft also ignored the feedback that their Modern UI was going to look like a mobile OS on anything that had a keyboard and a mouse; they ignored this too. In short Microsoft can try to spin their way out of their admission of failure, but no one is buying it.

Nokia could be in a tad bit of trouble with their decision to buddy up to Microsoft. It seems that investors are not willing to wait for their investment in Windows Phone to pay off and we can’t blame them. When Nokia made this decision it was more than a little controversial as Window Phone represented a mere fraction of the market and had not shown any growth potential to warrant making it the exclusive OS for Nokia. Many felt that it was only Stephen Elop’s close connections to Microsoft that enabled the deal as Elop was the head of Microsoft’s Business Division prior to taking the top spot at Nokia.

Microsoft has announced that they are going to make “key” changes to their Windows 8 operating system. I think deep down we all knew this day was coming as the consumer response was not what Microsoft and many of their partners had hoped for. There are many contributing factors to this, but one of the biggest ones was Microsoft’s drastic shift from the PC being about what the user wants to users taking what Microsoft put in front of them.

There has been a few articles that popped up over the weekend crowing about Microsoft’s Windows 8 and how it has jumped in numbers from 0 to 7.4% market share in a single quarter. The claim is interesting and also very misleading if you actually take the time to read the data used as a basis for this claim. In most of the articles that we read the data source is from Strategy Analytics which does not show ANY data that represents Q4 12 to Q1 13 they instead cover same quarter year to year (Q1 12 compared to Q3 13).

The PC is dead, PC sales are declining, and we are entering the post PC era; these are all headlines that are getting pushed around the internet right now. These are the same headlines that we have heard every year around the same time and by the same people for the last 15 or so years. They are just as wrong now as they were then, at least mostly wrong. What has happened is that we have hit an interesting time in the market. This is a time when we have too many new and “cool” technologies that are not cheap to make, but no idea on how to implement them (or an OS that really takes advantage of them). This is not the first time we have seen this and it won’t be the last either and it also comes at a time when the market is flooded with companion devices that are being marketed as standalone products.

Is Microsoft starting to change Windows 8 and RT? Back when Windows 8 was being broken out into the three main categories (“Home”, Pro and RT) we noticed that Microsoft was making some rather unusual moves and changes to the way that Windows worked. One of the first ones we noticed is that with Windows 8 you no longer get the Media Center component like you used to. This feature is only available for purchase if you have Windows 8 Pro or if you want to buy the Windows 8 Pro Pack (if you have the basic edition). This is odd in that most people that would want Windows 8 Pro are probably not interested in having Media Center. Sill Microsoft wants you to have the “pro” version of Windows 8 before you can have that feature. It is pretty obvious that they are trying to kill of that little feature and replace it with their Xbox Live Services. With Windows RT Microsoft pushed this as a great productivity device because it comes with a stripped down version of Office 2013. Unfortunately Microsoft messed this one up too as we found out very soon after they announced the full details on Windows RT.

"The future belongs to Android" says the director of Samsung, J.K. Shin in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, in which he complained that the market demand for tablets with Microsoft's Windows 8 and RT are very poor, and it apparently applies to mobile phones with WindowsPhone operating system as well.

An analyst from the company R.W. Baird announced that he has had a conversation with representatives of retail chains that are offering tablets, such as Best Buy and Staples. They told him that they will push the iPad for the holidays, and shall recommend it as an alternative to Amazon's Kindle or one of Samsung's Galaxy tabs. The reps also told him that the Google Nexus 10 was also doing fine, but the Microsoft Surface was practically forgotten.

Nokia is developing a tablet based on an ARM processor and Windows RT, according plans of the Finnish manufacturer. The device should be launched in early 2013, and will have a screen with a diagonal of 10.1 inches. This device should complement their Windows Phone line up and let them compete in a wider market (with companies like HTC and Samsung who will be making both devices as well).

If you believe the rumors going around the internet, HTC is working on the development of the tablet device with Windows RT; at least according to sources close to HTC. After they released their WP8 devices, named 8S and 8X it looks like they will indulge even deeper into collaboration with Microsoft. HTC decided earlier this month to give up on increasing the screen size of their WP8 smartphones and now they are turning to tablets.