Windows 8

HP just can’t quit Windows 7

More trouble in paradise? HP continues its love-hate affair with Microsoft, promoting sale of discounted PCs running a four-year-old version of Windows.

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Poll: Will you buy a Surface RT at $349?

A lower price doesn’t change a device’s flaws or limitations. But it can make it easier to overlook them. With the Surface RT now starting at $349, is it any more compelling of a purchase? Take our poll and let us know.

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Sorry Windows RT, Windows 8 on an Atom has your number

Microsoft’s Windows RT software had an opportunity to bring limited Windows 8 functionality to low-cost tablets, but that window may already be closing. Intel Atom-based slates with full Windows 8 and long run-times on a single charge have fewer restrictions and cost about the same.

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Want a sub-$500 Windows 8 tablet? Look to Dell.

Looking for a Windows 8 slate on the cheap? Dell removed the active digitizer and swappable battery from its Latitude 10 tablet for an Essentials model that starts at $499. Aimed at educators and students, the tablet is much less than Microsoft’s $899 Surface Pro.

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Microsoft expands Surface RT production, availability

It’s hard to tell if Microsoft’s Surface RT is a sales hit, but according to the company, retailer interest is high. As a result, Microsoft is expanding production and will be allowing third-party retail stores to carry the device earlier than it planned.

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Microsoft Surface with Windows 8 Pro: $899 in January

The wait for details surrounding Microsoft’s Surface Pro tablet is over. On Thursday, the company announced some specs and the starting price of $899 which gets 64 GB of storage for the 10.6-inch tablet and also includes a digital pen. Is the price too high?

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B&N releases Nook app for Windows 8

A couple of weeks after Amazon released its Kindle app for Windows 8, Barnes & Noble’s Nook app has launched in the Microsoft App Store. Nook for Windows 8 includes some of the discovery-related features that Barnes & Noble also added to its new Nook HD tablets.

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Windows 8

On October 25th, Microsoft plans to launch the latest version of its venerable computing software, this time designed around the touchscreen and…

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Video look at Microsoft Surface RT: Quite impressive

Along with Windows 8, Microsoft’s Surface RT tablet is here. The slate uses chips that typically power smartphones but Windows runs quite well on it and the hardware is extremely well made and — dare I say it — sexy? See for yourself in this early look.

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Quarterly Wrap-up

Mobile third-quarter 2012: analysis and outlook

Apple stole the spotlight in the third quarter with a fascinating series of both positive and negative headlines. Its iPhone 5 was met with record sales that were nonetheless stymied by supply shortcomings, and its first mobile mapping product was roundly criticized

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Poll: Microsoft Surface RT prices: High, low or just right?

Microsoft announced its Surface RT tablet in June, leaving everyone wondering about the price. Now the details have appeared: $499 to start with more storage and a keyboard cover an additional cost. Is this what you expected or were you hoping for lower? Take our poll!

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Microsoft launches Surface RT tablet for $499, cover extra

Pre-orders for Microsoft’s Surface RT tablet have begun and Microsoft is selling the device with 32 GB of storage for $499. That doesn’t include the thin keyboard cover: It’s a $100 option if bundled or $119 to add later. Is the iPad-like pricing just right?

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B&N and Microsoft finalize partnership, creating Nook Media

Barnes & Noble and Microsoft have finalized their previously announced partnership, which spins B&N’s digital and college businesses off into a subsidiary that will now be called Nook Media. Microsoft is investing $300 million in the new company and retains a 17.6 percent stake.

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Don’t count Microsoft out yet: Phone shipments grow 227%

Android and iOS have run away with the smartphone market, leaving others to fight for the remaining scraps. Windows Phone appears to be making some headway, however, as BlackBerry falters. Could Microsoft’s Windows 8 launch help boost phone sales due to a halo effect?

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Banking on Windows tablets, Microsoft creates mobile add-ons

While a hot accessory alone won’t sell a mobile device, it never hurts to generate buzz and interest. Microsoft is doing just that by announcing relatively inexpensive and eye-catching new keyboards and mice for Windows 8 computers and tablets. One keyboard case doubles as a tablet stand.

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Think we’re moving past the PC? Ask the PC makers

The PC market had one of its worst quarters in a long time, with worldwide sales dipping 0.1 percent and U.S. sales dropping 10.6 percent. It’s not just the effect of th general transition to mobile that’s taking place — there’s also a lot of waiting going on.

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Microsoft Surface: a new tablet and a bold strategy

Microsoft did what many would consider unthinkable by introducing Surface, a slick 10.6-inch tablet with two different models designed and built by Microsoft. There’s a key strategic difference, however: Surface tablets place Microsoft in direct competition with its licensees for both tablets and PCs.

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Poll: If Microsoft builds its own tablet, will you buy it?

Speculation has begun that Microsoft will launch its own tablet device on Monday, but will it be a full computer or a consumer device? No matter what’s announced, it could have implications regarding Windows partnerships and the public’s desire, or lack thereof, to buy Microsoft hardware.

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Bad news comes in threes for HTC this week

Once a rising star, HTC continues to lose lustre as it not only faces increased competition from Apple and Samsung, but also due to alleged patent infringements and limitations on future products. With three issues at once, this may be the worst week in HTC’s history.

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Asus uses Android strategy for Windows 8 Transformer Book

At Computex, Asus introduced numerous new computer designs for Microsoft Windows 8, covering laptops, desktops, Ultrabooks and more. There’s even one laptop with two screens. But the smartest move by Asus is to re-use the popular design from its Android tablet and dock, the Transformer Prime.

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All current Windows Phones will/won’t get WP 8

Depending on whom you believe, Microsoft will either offer Windows Phone 8 as an upgrade to all current Microsoft-powered handsets or it won’t provide the software to any of them. Windows 8 could be the issue here, but Microsoft needs to publicly state its intent.

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It’s Windows 8 if by Intel, Windows RT if by ARM

Microsoft has chosen the brand names under which it will sell Windows 8, the company’s most important product launch in a generation. It has smartly cut down on the number of versions but it has chosen to give its first ARM-friendly operating system a weird name.

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How developers can test Windows 8 apps on an iPad

Microsoft is facing a challenge in getting developers to make apps for its upcoming Windows 8 tablets: getting their attention. But there’s also a practical concern of having the right hardware. A rather unlikely middleman is looking to help bridge this gap.

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7 stories to read this weekend

It is the long weekend. And unless you are traveling, you might have enough time to sit and read and ruminate on different things. I have seven stories that are food for thought. The topics range from baseball to DNA to future of news.

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Is this why Apple keeps saying “post-PC”?

In the final quarter of 2011, Apple sold more iPads than any traditional computer maker sold PCs. Are we headed toward what Apple calls a “post-PC” era? A former Apple director of 10 years suggests an interesting reason for the company’s positioning of “post-PC” devices.

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Why Windows Store is a double-edged sword for developers

Microsoft added fuel to speculations about its consumer-business prowess on Tuesday with the preview of its forthcoming Windows Store that will accompany Windows 8, but there’s a more fundamental issue facing Microsoft than whether consumers will buy Windows 8 devices. Will it have developers?

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Windows 8 tablets: Too late or is there still time?

Interest in Microsoft Windows 8 tablets is waning, says Forrester, with nearly half of those who wanted such a device at the beginning of 2011 no longer interested. Time is against Microsoft, but there’s still some hope for success due to both hardware and software strategies.

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Qualcomm’s S4: One mobile chip to rule all networks

Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon S4 chips are expected next year and will be the first to support all of the major 2G, 3G and 4G networks with a single integrated modem. It’s smaller, more powerful and should improve battery life on 4G smartphones, tablets and other devices.

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How to install Windows 8 Preview using Boot Camp

Since the release of the first developer preview of Windows 8, Mac users have been downloading it to run in virtualization software such as Parallels and VMware Fusion. You can do it using Boot Camp, too, and experience Windows 8 at full speed.

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