We’ve heard rumors more than once about the idea of Microsoft moving beyond the 10+-inch tablet form factor, but nothing official from Microsoft confirming such a move – until now.

Microsoft’s CFO Peter Klein mentioned in a call with investors that they were working with manufacturers to develop “a new suite of small touch devices powered by Windows”. He didn’t give any more details than that.

With the smallest Windows tablet currently sizing in at 10.1-inches, that leaves open the 9, 8 or 7-inch tablet market for expansion. Considering that 8-inch tablets are starting to gain momentum, Microsoft might consider starting there, or maybe going a bit bigger, perhaps an 8.5-inch tablet?

Whatever they do, pricing will be key here. Small tablets are competitively priced and regardless of whether Microsoft goes the RT (ARM) or Windows 8 (x86) route, it can’t cost a fortune if they want to do well. The good news is that Intel has confirmed its next-gen chips will allow Windows 8 devices to be priced as low as $200, so perhaps that remark was talking about Intel-powered devices with smaller displays?

Would you be interested in a Windows tablet with a smaller display, as long as the pricing was at the very least under that of the iPad Mini?

Source: Mashable

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Microsoft’s Windows 8 isn’t going the direction in which the company thought it would go, with sales being somewhat limited. This might end once Intel’s “Bay Trail” Atom processor launches later this year, though.

According to CEO Paul Otellini, with the arrival of Bay Trail chips the prices for the Windows 8 tablets as well as touchscreen laptops are “going to be down to as low as $200“. At present, a tablet coming equipped with a dual-core “Clover Trail” Atom processor costs closer to $400-$550.

The upcoming chip, which will feature four redesigned Atom cores, is coming with double the computing performance of Intel’s current tablets, and it will improve on energy efficiency as well, according to the company.

Certainly things won’t be easy for Windows 8 tablets, whether they are super-powered or not, even if it is available with a price tag between $200 and $300 since there are many Android tablets, including the 7-inch Nexus 7, in that price range. And of course Windows 8 has already suffered from negative reviews and a scarcity of apps.

Do you think that the future Windows 8 tablets running Bay Trail are going to do well on the market?

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The iPad might currently be on top when it comes to tablets, but things may be shifting quickly, according to a new ABI Research report. Back in 2011 Gartner had suggested that Android would hold a 38% share of the tablet market by 2015, but ABI says that things are now moving much quicker. The latest data suggests that Android accounted for an impressive 44 percent of all tablets shipped during the last quarter.

Sure, this might only speak for one quarter, but with continued competing products coming from B&N, Amazon and Google, change is clearly on the horizon. The Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire might be the leaders in this change, but they aren’t the only players that are shifting the game, and the new Samsung Nexus 10 will likely also play a key role.

So when do analysts think that Android might overtake Apple in the tablet market, if trends continue in Google’s favor? Perhaps as early as mid-2013, believe it or not.

What stands in Google’s way? Not only do they have strong competition from Apple, Microsoft is also in the game now with Windows 8. Android might have cost on its side, but it also is known for not having as many tablet-optimized apps as iOS. In the 7-inch market, Android also now has competition from the Apple iPad Mini. Still, it is hard to deny that Android is gaining major traction in the tablet market.

It does seem inevitable that iOS will eventually be dethroned by Android in the tablet world, but do you think it will happen as soon as mid-2013 or will it take longer?

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Are you an HTC tablet fan? While I doubt many readers are frantically shaking their head “YES”, there are probably a few fans out there. Unfortunately, HTC not only has had several fiscal problems holding them back, but they also have had problems breaking into the tablet market. With bigger plays like Apple, Samsung, Google/Asus and Amazon– it isn’t that surprising to hear that they are stopping the sale of tablets in the U.S. for now.

HTC’s Jeff Gordon says that they are watching the tablet market very closely and aren’t closing the door on it for good. They are merely withdrawing their current offerings and have absolutely no future plans in the US market right now.

They did say that they are pulling away from Android tablets in the US, so it is humanly possible that they might instead be repositioning themselves for a launch into the world of Windows 8 touch devices. Keep in mind that statement is purely speculative.

Do you live in the US and own a HTC tablet? Does the move bother you? The good news is that it seems more and more likely that HTC will be releasing a 5-inch phablet sometime in the future. So even if you can’t can a full tablet experience, you might be able to meet HTC somewhere in the middle.

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It seems that Microsoft has had plenty of complaints stacked against their new move with Windows RT, which only allows Internet Explorer to run in the desktop- enough to prompt a EU investigation. With RT, 90% of functionality is meant for the new Metro interface, and so MS only allows 3^rd party browsers to work in Metro. As you can imagine, the browser companies out there, such as Google and Mozilla, didn’t exactly like this move and their complaints have now prompted an EU antitrust investigation into the matter.

The primary issue that the EU watchdog is looking into has to do with the claim that MS does not provider complete access to APIs for alternative browsers in Windows 8 and also the fact that only IE can run in desktop on RT (though this isn’t an issue with Win8 for x86 processors). Three years ago, the European Commission ruled that MS would have to comply to certain rules and policies that allowed a choice of media players and browsers, something that Windows 8 and RT might not be properly doing.

Windows 8 and RT devices are due out later this year so it’s hard to say how and if the investigation will effect the launch. What do you think, should MS be required to allow desktop access in Windows RT for other browsers, even if desktop isn’t really a major focus in that version?

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When it comes to Android tablets, there are tons of different vendors, power configurations, prices and features. This is both a blessing and a curse for the platform, and something that it seems that Microsoft will be repeating with Windows 8 devices. A flood of devices featuring Windows 8, both as tablets and ultrabooks, are on their way. According to Intel’s CEO, Paul Otellini, there are twenty Windows 8 tablets based on Atom on their way and more than 140 new Ivy Bridge Ultrabooks, forty of which will be touch-enabled or even tablet/laptop convertibles.

While Ultrabooks have been quite pricey up until now, it seems Intel is set to introduce $699 ultrabooks this fall, in time for Windows 8. Consider this is just Intel’s ATOM and Ultrabook Ivy Bridge iniatives, there are many more ARM and x86 tablets heading our way in a few months from a variety of different vendors and processor manufacturers, including AMD.

Having a robust amount of options to choose from in the tablet and convertible space, including Microsoft’s own Surface tablet, is great- but from a consumer point of view having so many choices can also make it difficult to narrow down exactly which device is right for you. What do you think about the upcoming launch of Windows 8 and the inevitable flood of devices that come with it? Are you excited to get your hands on a Windows 8 or RT device, or indifferent?

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You may not have any problems finding a building in a busy city via the GPS receiver in your handset, but it won’t be helpful once you step inside one. How will you find the elevator or the bathroom or the fire exit? This problem could soon be a thing of the past all thanks to a new system, called the MST-Smartsense Sensor, from Fraunhofer which uses simple sensors to enable in-building navigation. They have introduced a tiny module that could work with tablets and smartphones.

All you have to do is enter the building and scan a QR code, and your current position will be displayed on your mobile device. When you start moving around, the system’s built-in pedometer and compass will determine your speed and direction. No GPS required here as it can tell your location based on stride length.

These include an acceleration sensor that registers the motion of the body, and a magnetic field sensor that measures the alignment of the body through its position in relation to the earth‘s magnetic field. In tandem, they map a highly precise movement pattern. “Sensor fusion” is the term von Rosenberg uses to refer to such intelligent coupling of multiple sensors. The fascinating thing is that the module does not have to be calibrated by the user. On its own, it detects if the individual has long legs, or is just taking baby steps.

The system comes equipped with its own processor and needs less power to work. But the same feature could be made available via a modern mobile device provided it has a built-in pedometer. But do you really need such a system to find your way around in a building? It certainly would be very useful for those of you who have a tendency to get lost in big indoor locations like malls.

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Kanzi - a star pupil at the Bonobo Trust Sanctuary

Monkeys possessing tablets is no big deal, my brother carries one. That is not the case here. These are real apes! Seven bonobos from the Bonobo Hope Great Ape Trust Sanctuary in Des Moines, Iowa, use a day-to-day vocabulary of around 400 words to communicate with humans, though not verbally. Instead they associate each word with symbols (lexigrams) which are placed on a large wall mounted touch screen display in their cage. The symbol-word interface is part of the Bonobo Chat app which the Trust Sanctuary is developing.

The apes communicate with the humans by touching the appropriate lexigrams and from the news doing the rounds, the group of seven have become pretty talkative after having gotten the hang of talking to their distant cousins.

The experiment is so much a success that the institute is planning to give the apes the power of mobile technology, planning to develop an app that would enable the same lexigram in portable gadgets (tablets) in the hands of the apes.

A tablet with lexigrams from the Bonobo Chat app

Monkey business indeed! But what do humans gain from talking or hearing chit chat from bonobos.

Researchers are actually excited about the prospects.

One of the Bonobo Chat app’s uses would be its ability to act as a human-ape translator. If perfected, people will be able to speak into the device in plain English which would trigger the associated lexigram on the screen. The apes can talk back by touching the screen.

Of course, complex sentences are out of the questions. But the system is capable of meaningful two-way conversations and this would enable scientists to get feedback from the apes on their environment among other things.

The apes could also use the system to control their environment – for example they could open a door or get food from a vending machine by touching the appropriate symbol.

Talk about room service!

Then there is the RoboBonobo, a robot placed outside the enclosure of the apes. Since humans are not allowed to interact with the bonobos inside their enclosure, the Sanctuary Trust has designed a water-gun-equipped robot which the apes themselves can control if connected with the app.

That way the apes will be able to physically interact with people, playing chase games or squirting the water gun. Once the mobile devices are up and running, the interactions could also be online, bringing a global audience into the picture.

The idea maybe a little farfetched but the PR as well as the research insights the programme will reel in is invaluable for the Bonobo Trust. This initiative is not one of a kind either. The Orangutan Outreach program is working on getting iPads for apes in zoos, to provide them with mental stimulation.

The Bonobo sanctuary meanwhile is trying to raise funds for the Bonobo Chat development. If someone donates more than $500 to the cause he can get the grand prize of Skype-chatting with one of the stars among the seven — Kanzi or Panbanisha.

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When it comes to mobile display resolutions, particularly in tablets, 2012 seems to be a year of major change. It wasn’t long ago that 1024 × 768 was a commonplace resolution and even 640×480 wasn’t that unheard of. Now we have the new iPad with its 2048×1536 Retina display, and at MWC 2012 Asus unveiled an updated version of the Transformer Prime that will feature a 1920×1200 resolution.

It is clear that the future lies with high-resolution mobile displays, something that Microsoft talked about recently in a new Building Windows 8 blog post.

In the blog post Microsoft’s David Washington detailed how Windows 8, which is on its way later this year, will handle a multitude of different equipment and display setups, including the way that Metro will scale itself with different resolutions. At the standard 1366×768, no scaling will be needed but at other resolutions this is going to change in order to make the UI look and work as best as possible. With a 1920×1080 resolution there will be 140% scaling applied and for 2560×1440 resolutions there would even be 180% scaling.

So what does this mean exactly? In laymen’s terms, you pretty much get the same amount of information onscreen regardless of the resolution you are in. This gives the Metro UI a consistent look, that hopefully translates over to an easier design optimization experience for app developers.

Washington’s blog post even included a picture that showed the most common resolutions and screen sizes, showing off that Windows 8 will indeed support higher resolutions. Will this result in as attractive or useable experience as the new iPad? That’s hard to say, but there are many who don’t think it will. One such fellow is the Windows guru, Paul Thurrott.

In his own words:

“Windows is just never going to be as simple and elegant as the iPad, and that’s particularly true in this (high-density display) area. Windows’ diversity of devices, as always, remains both a blessing (choice) and a curse (inconsistency).”

Either way it is great to see the Microsoft is forward-thinking about concepts like higher resolution displays, scaling, and how to give the most consistent and useable UI experience it can with Metro. Will any of it make a difference as Microsoft attempts to enter into the tablet space against Apple and the Android tablets? I have my own theory on that, but I’d love to hear what you have to think about it as well.

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Arguably one of the biggest weaknesses of Windows Vista was the fact that many of the PCs that used it weren’t really up to snuff, hardware wise. The truth is that Vista wasn’t that bad if you had the right hardware, unfortunately Microsoft didn’t enforce any minimums and so most of us never really saw the ‘good side’ of Vista (though Windows 7 cured many of these problems).

Microsoft isn’t repeating any of these mistakes with its Windows 8 tablets, and has already set some specific hardware requirements that all Win8 tablets will have to meet.

For those that haven’t followed Windows 8 as it develops, it is a big step forward for mobile and touch users everywhere with a new start menu replacement UI called METRO, which is optimized for touch technology and mobile app use. Another huge change is that Windows 8 will support both traditional x86 processors and ARM technology (which is used the wide majority of smartphones and tablets).

So what are the requirements? Windows tablets must have a 5-point digitizer for input, NFC “touch marks”, five hardware buttons (Power, Rotation Lock, Windows Key, Volume Key (up/down), a button combo for the CTRL+ALT+DEL command, 2 second resume (for Intel chips), and no reboot driver upgrades.

We can also expect at least 10GB free space, UEFI, Wlan and Bluetooth 4.0 +LE, 1366×768 minimum resolution, 720p camera, ambient light sensor, magnetometer, accelerometer (3 axes), gyroscope, USB 2.0, and speakers.

As for Windows laptop/desktop requirements? Beyond just recommended specs, there will be no enforcements but on vendors here and Microsoft guarantees that any machine that runs Windows 7 will have no problem with Windows 8. Since Windows 7 has more minimalistic requirements than Vista, it stands to reason that any machine made for Vista or above will upgrade without any major hitches.

Things are really spicing up with Windows 8, and it looks to be one of the most epic versions yet.

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