Microsoft still faces criticism for its Windows 8 operating system, but despite that, the software giant has sold more than 100 million licenses in its first six months of availability, and important updates are on the way.

“Windows 8 is a big, ambitious change,” Microsoft CMO and CFO Tami Reller wrote in a blog post. “While we realize that change takes time, we feel good about the progress since launch, including what we’ve been able to accomplish with the ecosystem and customer reaction to the new PCs and tablets that are available now or will soon come to market.”

The 100-million milestone for Windows 8 is particularly important for Microsoft because its shows momentum even in an environment where PC sales are down. Back in January, Microsoft said it had sold 60 million Windows 8 licenses. At six months in, Windows 8 is actually keeping pace with Windows 7′s initial sales.

Reller also confirmed that the much-talked-about Windows Blue update to Windows 8 would arrive “later this year.” Windows Blue will likely be called Windows 8.1 or something similar, since Blue is simply a codename. Two things that have been rumored to be coming in Windows Blue are a boot-to-desktop option and a Start button on the desktop that takes you to the Start screen.

“[Windows Blue] will deliver the latest innovations across an increasingly broad array of form factors of all sizes, display, battery life, and performance, while creating new opportunities for our ecosystem,” Reller said. “It will provide more options for businesses and give consumers more options for work and play. The Windows Blue update is also an opportunity for us to respond to the customer feedback that we’ve been closely listening to since the launch of Windows 8 and Windows RT.”

In terms of delivering new form factors and sizes, the next thing we expect to see are cheaper 7-inch and 8-inch tablets running Windows 8 and Windows RT. Recently, Amazon accidentally leaked the first small-screen Windows 8 tablet, the 8.1-inch Acer Iconia.

Image via Microsoft

If you needed further evidence that tablets are more than a mere computing fad, just look at the latest numbers from Strategy Analytics.

The firm found that the tablet industry more than doubled in the first quarter — reaching 40.6 million units, up from 18.7 million last year. This was a significant quarter since we have more than two major companies backing tablet platforms, and consumers have plenty of inexpensive tablets to choose from.

In particular, it’s worth paying attention to Microsoft’s figures. The company is finally on the map in the tablet industry, with 3 million Windows tablets shipped, which includes both Windows 8 and Windows RT (Surface) devices. While that only makes up 7.5 percent of global tablet market share, it’s a notable figure, since Microsoft didn’t even have a tablet strategy last year (we can exclude the handful of Windows 7 tablets nobody bought).

Apple, not surprisingly, is still leading the tablet industry. The company reported 19.5 million iPads shipped for the quarter, up from 11.8 million last year. But Apple should also pay attention to how much Android slates are gaining on the iPad. Strategy Analytics reports that 17.6 million Android tablets were shipped in Q1, up from 6.4 million.

Now Apple and Google are basically neck and neck for the top spot in the tablet world. Android made up 43.4 percent of the global tablet market for the quarter, while Apple held 48.2 percent, falling around 15 percentage points from last year.

For the most part, it was small and cheap tablets like the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire that helped Android gain so much ground so quickly. At $329, the iPad Mini is still significantly more expensive than $200 Android tablets.

Apple’s big problem? Android tablets will continue to get cheaper and there will be more of them to tempt consumers. Apple, on the other hand, will be stuck iterating the iPad and iPad Mini over the next few years (likely at the same prices).

At this point, it looks like Android will end up dominating tablets pretty soon — something I previously thought would take years to do.

Photo: Devindra Hardawar/VentureBeat

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

By now it’s clear that the early reception to Windows RT has been…subdued, to say the least.

Samsung knows it, which is why the company is on the verge of nixing sales of its 10.1-inch Windows RT Ativ Tab in Germany and other European countries, according to reports from a pair of German news outlets.

The move is big, big deal. Germany is Europe’s largest economy, so if people aren’t picking up on the device there, sales elsewhere probably aren’t so hot either.

While the report hasn’t been confirmed by Samsung yet (don’t worry – we’ve reached out), it does make a whole lot of sense given Samsung previous confirmation that it has no plans to bring Windows RT tablets to the U.S. That decision, like the one with Europe, is in reaction to a very clear reality: There’s just no market for Windows RT, and if there is one, Samsung just can’t find a way to reach it.

“It’s not something we’re shelving permanently. It’s still a viable option for us in the future, but now might not be the right time,” Samsung tablet and PC head Mike Abary said of the U.S. move in January.

But Samsung isn’t alone. Asus CEO Jerry Shen also says that Windows RT has a long trip ahead of it on the road to consumer acceptance. “At this moment, for last year and this year, I believe Windows RT needs to take time to ramp up,” Shen said on a call with investors.

Shen, like anyone who has been paying attention, recognizes that there’s a crisis of message with Windows RT, and so far Microsoft’s failed to address it.

Microsoft sold a paltry number of Surface tablets in the last quarter — somewhere between 680,000 and 750,000 units — research firm IHS iSuppli told CNet.

The firm estimates that Microsoft shipped around 1.25 million Surface tablets in the quarter, which makes the low sales figure even more depressing for Microsoft. Additionally, IHS iSupply noted that return rates for the Surface were “very high.” (Those return rates aren’t surprising, given how much the Surface disappointed me in my review.)

“If you put the high return rate together with low sell-through [sales out] rate, that’s indicative of a problem,” iSuppli analyst Rhoda Alexander told CNet. She pointed to the steep learning curve of Windows 8 as one potential issue. I’d wager that many consumers have also been frustrated by the inability to install normal Windows apps, and the small number of Windows 8 apps available.

While the sales estimates aren’t exactly rosy for Microsoft, Alexander also notes that they’re similar to the results from some Android devices. (That’s not exactly a good thing, since most Android devices don’t sell well.) She also points out that the Kindle Fire had similar issues when it launched — but it has since gone on to carve out a decent chunk of the tablet market.

With the Surface Pro tablets on the horizon, which have Intel processors and can run full Windows apps, Microsoft may need to work hard to entice consumers who weren’t interested in the Surface RT.

Samsung is officially putting its Windows RT plans on ice, at least in the U.S.

Mike Abary, the head of Samsung’s PC and tablet business, tells CNET that consumer interest in Windows RT devices has been woefully low so far, which is why Samsung won’t launch its own Windows RT devices in the U.S. anytime soon.

The news is not exactly great for Microsoft, which has been heavily pushing the Windows RT agenda with its own Surface tablet. And the last thing the company needs now is less Windows RT support than its gotten so far.

The problem, Abary says, comes in two parts. Not only do customers not seem to know what Windows RT actually is, but retailers say they dont see much of a demand for devices running it. (And I imagine the former is directly tied to the latter.)

“When we added those two things up, [...] we decided maybe we ought to wait,” Abary said.

Another part of the problem has been price. Because Windows RT is meant to appear on cheaper devices, Abary says that Samsung was forced to make a lot of feature concessions in order to keep the prices down. That meant lackluster devices, which Samsung wasn’t crazy about.

Samsung isn’t alone in its Windows RT reluctance, either. Both HP and Toshiba have also abandoned plans to make Windows RT devices, leaving the range of products staggeringly low so far.

This, however means less competition for HTC, which is expected to enter the Windows RT tablet market later this year. The same goes for Dell and Asus, which have also tried their hands at creating Windows RT devices

Windows RT and Mac OS are getting a lot closer, thanks to a particularly enterprising feat of jailbreaking.

Programmer Steve Troughton-Smith found a way to get an early version of Mac OS running on Microsoft’s Surface tablet, reports the The Verge. The hack, which builds on a jailbreak tool released by hacker Netham45 earlier this week, allows the Apple operating system to run inside Windows RT.

While there don’t seem to be many immediately useful applications for the Mac OS hack, the entire project is an interesting proof of concept for what can be done with both Windows RT and the Surface. Vibrant hacking communities often develop around easily hackable devices, even if the devices themselves don’t sell particularly well. Just take a look at the HTC HD2, which hackers love because they can’t install just about anything on it.

One thing, however, stands in the way of  the Surface matching the status of the HD2: Secure Boot, which prevents Windows RT devices from sideloading custom operating systems (and limits the Surface homebrew scene to the relatively limited hacks like the one you’re reading about now).

Microsoft itself hasn’t been too concerned with the hack, and in fact seems to be somewhat fond of it. “We applaud the ingenuity of the folks who worked this out and the hard work they did to document it,” Microsoft said on Tuesday, slightly alleviating concerns that it will patch the exploit — at least for now.

Undeterred by Microsoft’s foray into the hardware arena, Nokia has a trick up its sleeve for its own Windows RT tablet: a battery-equipped keyboard cover.

The cover will snap into place just like the Surface’s keyboard covers (and the iPad’s Smart Covers), and it will also sport a kickstand, reports the Verge. Nokia’s tablet, which is expected in early 2013, will feature a 10.1-inch screen, as well as HDMI and USB ports. (I’m just hoping it’s less unwieldy than the Surface’s wide display.)

Nokia seems to be paying particular attention to battery life: The tablet itself will sport a 10-hour battery life, as well as a fast charging capability that can bring it up to 50 percent charge quickly. The keyboard cover’s battery will kick in once the tablet’s battery runs low. In my testing, I found the Surface RT’s battery life lasted around eight hours (a bit less than the iPad 3′s). It sounds like Nokia’s tablet could best the Surface in battery life, which could be a major advantage.

Earlier this year, we heard that Nokia may have been planning this tablet for the end of the year. But that was before the unveiling of Microsoft’s Surface. I wouldn’t be surprised if Nokia had to spend a bit more time developing some new standout tablet features.

Barnes & Noble has finally gotten around to releasing a Nook app for Windows 8. The move comes a month after the launch of the operating system and weeks after Amazon launched its Windows 8 Kindle app.

The app, which also runs on Windows RT, offers users access to tons of books, magazines, newspapers and comics. No surprises there.

What is notable, however, is that Barnes & Noble has opted to use its own “paper” user interface rather than following Microsoft’s Metro styling. For fans of Windows 8′s look and feel, the switch might be jarring, but ultimately it’s not the biggest deal. (The Kindle app, on the other hand, follows the Metro interface very closely.)

Seeing as how Microsoft invested $300 million in Barnes & Noble’s Nook business, it seemed like a sure thing that a Nook app would be available at the launch of Windows 8. Now that the app has been released, expect to see it installed on new Windows 8 and RT devices by default.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there’s no word yet on a Windows 8 version of Nook Video, which Barnes & Noble announced way back in September.

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Unwitting Windows RT Bing users: Google has heard your cries.

In an effort to counter the Bing threat, Google is rolling out its own search app for Windows RT. Similar to its counterparts on other platforms, the Google Search app for Windows RT offers voice search, instant results, and perhaps, best of all, Google doodles. It’s all fairly self-explanatory.

The app joins the identical one Google released for Windows 8 in October. And like that app, Google Search for Windows RT offers a bit more than what its name suggests. With the app installed, users are taps away from a variety of Google products, including Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Maps.

Judging by the app, it’s clear that Google is serious about letting Windows RT users know that they still have access to Google’s services even while inside Microsoft’s own ecosystem. While that may seem like a bad thing for Microsoft, it’s actually exactly what the company wants: The more apps available for Windows 8 and Windows RT, the more attractive the platforms become for potential customers.

So what’s next for Google and Windows RT? Hopefully a native version of Chrome, which is will be key if Google wants to offer an alternative to Internet Explorer 10.

These days, the best gadgets on the market are all aiming at the same lofty goal: no compromises. Consider the most recent MacBook Pros, Sony’s NEX lineup of cameras (and similar mirrorless shooters), or Jawbone’s fantastic Jambox Big wireless speaker: These devices may have their minor flaws, but for the most part they work so well that you practically feel empowered by their capabilities.

Without compromises, these devices feel as if they were formed purely to accomplish a specific task well and never get in your way. In the end, isn’t that the the entire point of good technology?

From the moment Microsoft debuted the Surface tablet back in July, it’s seemed like the ideal no-compromise device. It’s far thinner than any ultraportable laptop could hope to be, and, with the innovative Touch and Type covers, it also has the potential to be a more productive tablet than Apple’s iPad (or any other tablet, for that matter). The Surface is also the best device in which to introduce Windows 8 and its newfangled touch interface to the world.

For all of these reasons, the Surface seemed like a major step towards the future of computing, and not just Microsoft’s attempt to copy the iPad. Unfortunately, the reality doesn’t live up to the Surface’s no-compromise promise.

After testing out the Surface (starting at $499, $599 with a touch cover) for almost a week, I found a lot to like about Microsoft’s first computer. But the heavy weight of compromise keeps it from living up to its massive potential as a revolutionary device.

The good: Microsoft’s best-designed product ever

The Surface is Microsoft’s first attempt at building its own computer — but you wouldn’t know that at first glance. With its solid construction, attractive lines, and satisfying “thunk” when popping out its kickstand, the Surface feels like the Windows PC equivalent of a luxury car. The Surface has an Apple-esque level of obsessive design. For example, that wonderful kickstand sound didn’t happen by accident; it required a custom hinge.

But Microsoft also manages to make its design noticeably different from Apple’s. After all, a device as important as this shouldn’t be easily mistaken for an iPad.

The Surface’s case is made out of a metal Microsoft calls VaporMG, which is incredibly durable while being three times lighter than aluminum, it says. VaporMG comes from a magnesium alloy, and it feels almost alien in your hands. It’s cool to the touch and will instantly make you forget any plastic Android tablet you’ve ever felt.

Windows 8 made real

In several ways, the Surface is Microsoft’s Windows 8 vision manifested in an actual piece of hardware. Its boxy design and bright keyboard covers evoke Windows 8’s expressive Live Tiles. The Surface eschews the friendly curves of the iPad. It’s all flat shapes and straight lines — it’s all “serious business.” And of course, it sits halfway between tablets and traditional laptops, the same line that Windows 8 straddles.

It’s tough to understand what Microsoft is getting at with Windows 8 when you upgrade your current laptop or desktop. A mouse and keyboard, or an older touchpad, simply doesn’t give you the same experience as a touchscreen. But with the Surface, the entire thought process behind Windows 8 just clicks (yes, like the lovely kickstand).

We had plenty of nice things to say about Windows 8 in our review, but the Surface actually runs a stripped-down version of the OS called Windows RT, which is for devices running mobile ARM processors. The two operating systems look essentially the same, but one big difference with RT is that you can’t run older Windows applications. Given the paucity of apps in the Windows Store, that could prove a problem for many consumers.

Microsoft will also release the Surface Pro in the next few months, which will be heavier and more expensive (no pricing details have been revealed yet), but it will have more horsepower and will run older Windows programs.

Who needs a cover when you can have a keyboard?

While it’s an intriguing device on its own, the Surface feels half-complete without one of the covers, which double as keyboards when unfolded. As a standalone tablet, a great deal is working against the Surface (more on that below). But as a device that can swap between being a tablet and laptop easily, it’s a wonder.

The Touch Cover ($120), which is touch-sensitive and doesn’t have real keys, feels remarkably thin and light at just 3.25 millimeters thick and 0.46 pounds. It’s basically like trying to touch-type on a flat table: It’s tricky at first, but you’ll get the hang of it quickly. Without the Touch Cover, the Surface would simply be yet another me-too tablet. With it, the Surface feels like it comes from the future, which is exactly the emotion Microsoft wants to convey.

You’ll either love or hate the bolder color choices for the Touch Cover — cyan, magenta, and red (which looks more tangerine to me) — but it also has plain white and black variants if you want something subtler. The bright colors make the Surface stand out when sitting next to an iPad equipped with Apple’s Smart Case, something that I’m sure wasn’t accidental.

The Type Cover ($130), on the other hand, feels as good as any laptop’s keyboard I’ve ever used, including the MacBook Air. Since it features real keys, typing on it has less of a learning curve, and it quickly became my preferred Surface cover. It’s a bit thicker than the Touch Cover at 6 millimeters, and it’s a tenth of a pound heavier, but these are minor sacrifices for superior typing. (You also give up some of the futuristic vibe with the Type Cover, but it’s tough to complain when it feels so good.)

Both covers attach to the Surface magnetically with ease — I found it even simpler than attaching the iPad’s Smart Cover, and you hear a satisfying “Click” once the covers attach properly. Both also feature rudimentary touchpads, which was frustrating to use on the Touch Cover and adequate on the Type Cover. For the most part, you’ll be touching the screen to navigate the Surface, but I still found the touchpads necessary to deal with the Windows desktop interface.

Ideal for media

The Surface’s wide 10.6-inch screen is well suited for media. Widescreen movies typically fill the entire screen, and the display’s vibrant color makes photos shine. It’s nowhere near as sharp as the iPad’s Retina Display, but for most consumers it’ll do just fine. The Surface also sounds better than most tablets thanks to surprisingly loud stereo speakers.

At all of its prices, the Surface comes with about twice the memory of the iPad. That gives you plenty more room to store music and movies, in addition to all the media you’ll inevitably stream, as well as whatever the OS and apps take up, which is significant. I tested the 64 GB version of the Surface, and with only a few additional apps installed, I had just 42.3 GB free. The amount of free space will certainly be much lower if you get the 32 GB entry-level model.

You can also expand the Surface’s memory with tiny MicroSDXC cards, which are available in sizes up to 128 GB, and you can swap these in and out while the tablet is running. (The storage cards fit into an ingenious nook underneath the Surface’s kickstand — as if nothing should mar its beautiful exterior.)

Windows head Steven Sinofsky seems surprised by his Surface. (Photo: James Pikover)

The Bad: Compromise abounds

You’d think that with a quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor and 2 GB of RAM, the Surface would be ready to run Windows RT without much of a sweat. That’s true for the most part: navigating around the Start screen, launching apps, and jumping through multiple open programs generally felt silky smooth.

But things begin to slow down once you have too many apps open. And so, the compromises begin.

2 GB of RAM? What is this, 2005?

“Apps don’t slow down Surface, so you don’t need to close them,” Microsoft boasts on the Surface’s website. But in my experience, that wasn’t exactly true. Running several apps at once caused noticeable slowdown when playing games, switching between apps, or dealing with media. I often had to close Windows 8 apps entirely to reclaim some precious memory (within an app, you do this by swiping from the top of the screen to the bottom). Things get even more troublesome if you’re running multiple Office applications and Internet Explorer in the Desktop.

The Surface also has a hard time navigating Flash and video content on the web. It typically stutters a few times before playing a YouTube video, and the video itself usually takes a few seconds before it begins to play smoothly.

For the most part, I blame the Surface’s paltry RAM for the slowdowns. While 2 GB is a healthy amount of memory for most tablets, it’s fairly minimal for Windows PCs. Even with the memory optimizations made for Windows RT, it often feels like the Surface is gasping for breathing room. With multiple Internet Explorer tabs, Word, and several Windows 8 applications running at once, the Surface’s memory usage would often exceed 80 percent. Things could get better as Microsoft further optimizes the Surface’s firmware and Windows RT, but for now I’m left wishing that Microsoft pushed for 4 GB of RAM (like in the Surface Pro).

If anything, the memory limitations reveal exactly who Microsoft is aiming at with the Surface: A typical consumer who wants the convenience of a readily accessible keyboard but who doesn’t really do all that much at once. For geeks and power users, the Surface Pro is where it’s at.

Pretty but awkward

Despite the overall excellence of the Surface’s hardware, I still found some things to be annoying. For one, at 1.5 pounds with a widescreen display, the Surface is almost impossible to use with one hand for very long. I’ve never been a big fan of large tablets, but the Surface feels egregiously awkward in one hand, no matter how you hold it. Instead of being a convenient handheld computer, I mostly rested the Surface on my leg in tablet mode.

And then there’s the kickstand. I love the design, but it’s not very stable when used on your lap or any non-flat surface. I don’t think we should ever have to worry about balancing our computers on our laps — that’s something notebook makers pretty much mastered several years ago.

Slow down there, fast typer

As much as I liked the design and theory behind the Surface’s covers, actually using them to type for prolonged periods was a major headache. Both the Touch and Type keyboards would often miss characters, and sometimes entire words, if I typed too quickly. If I slowed down to about half my typing speed, things generally worked fine.

Apparently, Microsoft is aware of this issue, and I’ve been told a software fix is coming soon. (If it were a hardware issue, the Surface would be doomed.) But it doesn’t make the best first impression for a device that’s supposed to represent the future of computing. Heck, even DOS on a 386 was able to keep up with speedy typing!

Windows RT: A decent, but barren, start

While Windows 8 is getting most of the hype right now, it’s Windows RT that may truly determine Microsoft’s future. It’s the first version of Windows built for a chip architecture outside of x86 processors, so it won’t run on Intel or AMD chips. And due to its lightweight nature, Windows RT could potentially run on devices with very compact and low-power CPUs, which could enable those devices to be even smaller and thinner than the Surface.

But as it stands now, Windows RT still needs to grow quite a bit before I’m satisfied with it. It takes the Surface around 25 seconds to boot to the login screen, compared to about 10 seconds on my Windows 7 desktop and around 8 seconds on my MacBook Air.

And then you’ve got the app problem.

Since Windows 8 and RT are still very young, it has a notable lack of good apps in the Windows Store, especially from major companies like Twitter and Facebook. In comparison, the iPad now has more than 275,000 apps, and it can also run (albeit in an ugly, blown-up screen) every other iOS app.

This will certainly change over time, but for now the Surface’s app deficiency is going to just disappoint and confuse consumers. (It’s also one of the reasons I think this week’s Build developer conference is the most important event Microsoft has ever run.)

Microsoft certainly has its work cut out for it with developers. We heard from Facebook that it’s waiting on Microsoft to build a Windows 8 Facebook app — clearly it’s not a priority for the social networking giant.

What’s truly strange about Windows RT is that, even though it’s dependent on new Windows Store apps, it still features a traditional Windows desktop. So far, you can use Internet Explorer and some touch-friendly Office apps in the desktop environment. But try to install any other Windows application, which I’m sure many consumers will, and you’ll get an error message.

Aside from helping out occasionally with multitasking, the Windows desktop on the Surface mostly feels like an oddity, like a vestigial tail inexplicably forgotten by evolution.

Windows head Steven Sinofsky turned a Surface into a skateboard. (Photo: Sean Ludwig)

The Verdict: Look, adore — but don’t buy (yet)

The Surface may be our first look at what most PCs will look like in a decade, but as it stands today, it’s more like a concept device. If you’ve ever seen a concept car, you’ll get the idea — the Surface is meant to make an impression, but it isn’t yet ready for consumers.

If I have one major takeaway from the Surface, it’s the surprising revelation that I actually like touching its screen when it’s in laptop form. We’re already seeing some Ultrabooks with touchscreens right now, but eventually it’ll be something that all ultraportable computers (including the MacBook Air) will have to support.

Most of you shouldn’t buy this Surface. Wait for the Surface Pro, or if you can, wait for Microsoft’s next Surface RT model. At the very least, wait for this Surface (and its keyboards) to drop in price and get more apps.

It will only get better, and at some point, the Surface may finally evolve into the no-compromise machine it has the potential to be.

I received my Microsoft Surface RT today. My reason for picking one up was fairly specific. While I admire Apple’s ability to define a new category of computing on the IOS platform, I’ve always felt the iPad experience to be a little lacking for my needs.

I’m that guy who’s in his productivity sweet spot with 20 applications, four Chrome windows, each with 15 tabs, switching between them all, copying and pasting like a keyboard gymnast. I definitely leverage multitasking to get work done.

So using my iOS devices has always been a bit of a downshift.

While I first saw the iOS experience as limiting, I’ve grown to see using my Apple devices as an opportunity to focus. My iPad is my eReader/Netflix/Flipbook/email/game appliance, and it does each of these functions very well one at a time. While the opportunity to focus is a good thing, it’s meant carrying around both my iPad for the tablet experience and my MacBook Pro for the full desktop experience.

So with my MacBook getting closer to a replacement, and with this new class of Windows tablet coming to market, I thought this would be a great opportunity to find out if Microsoft’s vision of tablet could be more than a single-task device.

Source: Peter Hunter

My Surface in my kitchen …

Volumes have already been written about the pros and cons of Windows 8.

So I’ll try to avoid critiques of Microsoft’s design choices where they don’t directly help or hurt my ambitions with this device. I do feel the pain of the Metro-learning curve, but I have the fairly real sense it is temporary. I felt similarly frustrated when I first began using OS X after years only using Windows. That went away quickly too

My initial impression of the Surface hardware is good. My main concern is how the device will wear over years as my primary device. The materials in the device seem to be a good balance of quality metals and plastics. The build quality is solid; the finish seems to be scratch resistant. It seems like Microsoft did its homework.

The kickstand is quite thin and light, yet solid. It is nearly invisible when not deployed, and there’s no sense of it flapping around when holding the Surface as a tablet. The tab you use to pop it out is on the left side of the device. Unfortunately, the power connector on the right side feels like a tab. Several times I’ve found myself pushing on the connector when trying to get the kickstand deployed.

I ordered the Surface with the Touch Keyboard, and I have mixed feelings about it. I find it vastly better to type on than touch-screen typing on my iPad, but I do find myself making strange mistakes. I think the very slight sense of touch feedback is something to get used to. Particularly, I found myself making many typos when typing keys with my pinky fingers. It does seem like this will get better with more use.

I didn’t read the screen resolution specs until after I had used it for a bit. The resolution seemed higher than the specs suggest. The screen is bright and clear. I watched a couple shows on Netflix with darker scenes. The screen performed well.

Battery life seems good. It was at about 80 percent when I first started using it. When I set it down six hours later, it was still at around 30 percent.

I did find a flaw with the design, which in hindsight seems quite obvious. If you use a traditional notebook on your lap while carpooling, or on the train, you will not be able to use this device that way. It is not a laptop. The keyboard and trackpad are fairly useless on your lap. Once you remove it from a solid surface the device really becomes more of a traditional tablet. Depending on how you plan to use this device, I could see this being a deal-breaker. I’m not sure yet what the impact of this will be on my use. It seems like a big deal, but when I think about it more closely, I’m not sure how much I type on my Macbook Pro when it’s not on a solid surface. I think I need a bit more time to understand the impact of this one.

The App ecosystem matters, and to nobody’s surprise, the Windows 8 RT app portfolio has some gaps.

For instance, I had difficulty finding the right app to stream my favorite Internet radio station. I ended up just streaming it through the browser. While I’m sure there are armies of developers coding away right now, I have to evaluate the device based on what’s available now. Specifically for me, a Dropbox App would be greatly appreciated.

I’ve had a few “AHA!” moments, where I’ve realized this device is categorically different than my iPad. The first came when I realized it had Bluetooth and could pair with my Logitech Bluetooth mouse. It might be a small thing, but it is something you can’t do, nor would want to do, with an iPad.

The second came while I was trying to switch between apps. Chalk it up to being a Windows 8 novice, but it was frustrating none the less. I realized the keyboard had both an “Alt” key and a “Tab” key. The combination of the two brought a very real sense of familiarity and another reminder that I wasn’t using an iPad.

The third came when I discovered how to split-screen two apps. Having a Skype chat video window open while composing an email was an eye-opening experience. Something as simple as that should be core functionality on any modern tablet.

So that summarizes my initial experience with the Surface RT. Ideally, I’d like to have evaluated this device after using Windows 8 for a few months. I had to separate the Windows 8 learning curve frustrations from the device’s shortcomings.

That said, I see a huge amount of potential and am quite optimistic this device will fill the gap I have between tablet and laptop.

Image credits: Microsoft, Peter Hunter

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July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Microsoft’s Surface will be shipping on Friday, and the early reviews are already in.

Short summary? It’s an amazing piece of hardware, with desperately bad flaws in its operating system and app ecosystem.

It’s also an amazingly diverse crop of opinions for a single piece of hardware. Clearly, Microsoft has created something surprisingly new, and no one quite agrees on how to evaluate it yet.

Still, do you want one? Probably not.

Every reviewer praises the sophistication and originality of the hardware. Everyone is impressed with how sturdy and clicky the kickstand is. Nobody likes the two cameras (one front-facing and one rear-facing), which take mediocre pictures and are slow besides.

But after that, opinions diverge. Are the optional keyboards (the $120 Touch Cover, which includes a touchscreen keyboard, and the $130 Type Cover, which has actual keys) easy to type on or not? Is the Windows 8 operating system a delight to use or a confusion? Is the lack of Windows RT apps a temporary problem or a huge impediment? Should you just wait for the heavier Surface Pro that’s coming in a few months and will run the full version of Windows 8? Is the battery life impressive or disappointing? You won’t find a definitive answer in these reviews.

One thing does seem clear, however: Windows RT, the OS that this version of the Surface runs, needs apps, bad. No Twitter. No Pandora. No Facebook. Without these major apps, you might be hard-pressed to find something to do with the tablet besides browse the web and play with the Start screen’s cool, colorful tiles.

Here are the highlights of the major reviews, with links to each.

David Pogue, New York Times:

You’d have to be fairly coldblooded to keep your pulse down the first time you see the Surface: its beauty, its potential, its instant transformation from table to PC. How incredible that this bold, envelope-pushing design came from Microsoft, a company that for years produced only feeble imitations of other companies’ fresh ideas.

And how ironic that what lets the Surface down is supposedly Microsoft’s specialty: software.

The Times praises the Surface hardware, from its crisp design and its expandability (USB port, video-out port, memory card slot) to its excellent Type Cover keyboard. But Windows RT is a let-down, with the inability to run the millions of Windows apps out there and just a tiny number of compatible apps in the Windows Store.

Walt Mossberg, Wall Street Journal:

Microsoft’s Surface is a tablet with some pluses: the major Office apps and nice, optional keyboards. If you can live with its tiny number of third-party apps, and somewhat disappointing battery life, it may give you the productivity some miss in other tablets.

The WSJ review calls the Surface “historic,” rightly, because it is Microsoft’s first computing device. But the review proceeds to ho-hum the whole experience: Despite some high points (nice hardware, good keyboards) the list of disappointments is long: poor cameras, a screen that doesn’t measure up to the iPad’s resolution, a lack of apps, and “mediocre” battery life: Just seven hours.

Mat Honan, Wired:

This is one of the most exciting pieces of hardware I’ve ever used. It is extremely well-designed; meticulous even. …  It is a new thing, in a new space, and likely to confuse many of Microsoft’s longtime customers. … But overall it’s quite good; certainly better than any full-size Android tablet on the market. And once the application ecosystem fleshes out, it’s a viable alternative to the iPad as well.

Wired found the two keyboard covers worked great as keyboards, but not so well as covers — they had a tendency to come open. He was smitten by the operating system, and found it easy to use and even addictive. But the lack of apps troubled him.

Wired did blind, side-by-side tests of the Surface display compared with the iPad’s Retina display. Testers preferred the Surface for watching HD video, slightly, but vastly preferred the iPad for reading text.

Sam Biddle, Gizmodo:

The Surface is instantly more charming than any Windows device that’s come before it. It’s nearly the perfect size, and the form is almost beyond reproach. If you want a tablet, use it like a tablet. If you want a laptop, use it like a laptop. Both modes seem right, like a genuine seachange step forward.

On the other hand, the Surface is undermined by a lot of flaws. The Touch Cover is “a letdown” and costs more than $100 extra. Windows RT is disappointing and feels like a “tundra” with major apps missing — like Facebook and Twitter. There’s no image-editing software. Office is a limited beta, and the desktop mode is a “cruel tease” because you can’t install any Windows software there. Should you buy the Surface? Gizmodo concludes with a flat No.

Joshua Topolsky, The Verge:

Overall, Microsoft has designed a beautiful tablet that’s unfortunately more functional as a laptop… on a desk. The styling and components are incredibly well made and high quality, but the form factor isn’t svelte or small enough to really come across as a true hybrid.

The Surface does not seem like a better tablet than the iPad or the Nexus 7 (the two best products in the category as of this writing). Even though it has a very unique and useful interface, and lots of hooks into Microsoft’s ecosystem, it still lacks the polish and apps of those two devices.

The Verge is disappointed that the Surface’s touchscreen capabilities are only able to register five points at a time — just one hand’s worth of fingers — while the iPad can register 11 separate touches simultaneously (one for each finger, plus your nose). Performance-wise, the basic OS seemed snappy and responsive, but it “seemed to bog down” when opening more apps and demanding more of them.

Little things were lacking: For instance, Microsoft’s Mail app isn’t stable, and doesn’t handle threading very well.

Jon Phillips, PC World:

The build quality throughout Surface RT is sturdy and confident, and exudes the same kind of austere precision we find in German performance cars. … Playing with Surface RT for a week is like eating Spanish tapas for the first time after a lifetime consuming only American food (iOS gear) or east-Asian fare (Android gear). Surface RT—and the Windows RT system it taps into—is zesty, zippy, playful, and different. But it also takes some getting used to, especially if you’re not adventuresome.

In an HTML5 benchmark, the Surface delivered top results, posting a frame rate of 6.9 frames per second, beating all other tablets the magazine tested. PC World found the Surface’s battery lasted for 9 hours of continuous HD playback. But while the hardware wowed PC World, they came away nonplussed by the lack of apps and the “spooky” lack of utility in the vestigial traditional Windows desktop, which runs Office — and nothing else, because the Surface RT won’t run x86 apps made for previous versions of Windows.

Tim Stevens, Engadget:

It really is lovely to plug in a USB drive and start dragging and dropping files. Or, feel free to connect that comfortable keyboard you’ve been using for a decade, or that old tank of an HP LaserJet that’s still doing the business after all these years.

The Surface is a slate upon which you can get some serious work done, and do so comfortably. You can’t always say that of the competition. It’s in the other half of the equation, that of the content consumption and entertainment, where the Surface is currently lacking.

Engadget used a JavaScript benchmark that delivered respectable results, more than twice as good as the latest (third-generation) iPad, and found the Surface lasted for nearly 10 hours in a battery rundown test.

Joanna Stern, ABC:

The Surface is full of potential, but until its software performance and apps are as strong as its hardware, I, unfortunately, will still drag both a laptop and an iPad through security.

ABC liked the Surface hardware overall, and even praised the Touch Keyboard as more “fun” than the Type Keyboard. However, the software — while promising — can get “sluggish” when running multiple apps or when typing in the tablet’s version of Microsoft Word. Also, ABC found the lack of compatible apps frustrating.

Peter Bright, Ars Technica:

The big problem Microsoft has is that right now it doesn’t matter how good Surface is. The decision on whether or not to buy depends not on Surface itself, but on Windows RT. The only third-party applications that will run on Windows RT are those that use the Metro interface and are distributed through the Windows Store. At the moment, there just aren’t that many applications, and many of the ones that exist are mediocre.

Ars Technica delivers what is probably the most in-depth review of the Surface hardware available, with extreme attention to detail. The review only glancingly covers Windows RT, but like other reviewers, acknowledges the shortcomings in the ecosystem. The review concludes that your willingness to purchase the Surface is dependent on how much confidence you have in the future of that ecosystem.

Ed Bott, ZDNet:

The Windows RT-powered Surface will not replace your desktop PC or your full-strength notebook. It is, instead, an ideal companion device for a Windows PC, with great mobility. It is powerful enough that it alone can handle most work and play duties, even on an extended business trip or vacation.

ZDNet’s review is the most positive of the bunch, calling it “drop-dead gorgeous” and praising its battery life, display, keyboards, and operating system. While acknowledging the shortage of apps, ZDNet says “this is a product that will get better with age,” and concludes with an unambiguous “enthusiastically recommended.”

(Updated 10/24 with ABC, Ars Technica, and ZDNet reviews, and removed reference to Evernote, which actually is available for Windows RT.)

Top photo: Ariel Zambelich/Wired

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Update: Microsoft has officially announced the Surface RT’s price (no change from what’s below).

—

Seemingly accidentally, Microsoft unveiled the pricing for its Surface Windows RT tablets on its online store this morning: The base unit with 32 gigabytes of storage will go for $499, making it the ideal iPad killer, while the 32GB model with a Touch Cover Keyboard will cost $599.

At the high end, Microsoft will offer a 64GB Surface with a Touch Cover for $699. All of the models show October 26 as the shipping date. Microsoft also lists the Touch Cover separately for $119, which features a flat touch keyboard, while the version with a more traditional keyboard costs $129.

Pricing was one of the many key details Microsoft left out when it unveiled the Surface tablets in June, and I’m sure the company wanted to make a bigger deal of having an iPad competitive $499 price. You’ll be able to pre-order a Surface at Microsoft’s site starting at 9 am Pacific today, or you can pick one up at a Microsoft store on October 26.

The Surface RT pricing is surprisingly level-headed for Microsoft, though a part of me wishes the company went the extra mile to price it below $499. Given that Microsoft is starving for tablet market share, it would have made sense to aim for a $399 or $450. Then again, given just how slick the Surface looks, Microsoft may already be losing money on the Surface RT’s $499 price.

We’re still awaiting pricing on the slightly larger Microsoft Surface running Windows 8 Pro, which will be able to run existing Windows programs and sport more powerful hardware (at the cost of being heavier). Since that Surface is basically a full-fledged PC, it’s expected to sell for $800 to $1,000. Windows RT devices, including the Surface, will only be able to run new Windows 8 apps from Microsoft’s app store.

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

What will be the key to Microsoft’s Windows 8 tablet success? Really cheap Windows RT tablets.

So says Lenovo North American head David Schmoock, who told Bloomberg that Windows 8 tablets running on ARM processors are going to be priced starting at $300. “RT will play in consumer and retail at very aggressive price points,” he said.

Windows RT is the name given to the version of Windows 8 running on ARM processors, which are highly common in mobile phones. Windows 8 tablets, on the other hand, will run on either Intel on AMD chips. (Think of Windows RT as “Windows 8 Lite”, essentially.)

But Schmoock says that Windows 8 tablets are going to cost up to $700, putting them out of the reach of price-conscious consumers. That’s why Windows RT tablets are going to have to be priced much lower. At $300, a Windows RT tablet would undercut the $500 iPad, a strategy that’s become increasingly common for tablet makers.

But where does that leave Lenovo? Right now the company appears to be focused on the business end of the market, as its upcoming ThinkPad Tablet 2 shows. Unlike the cheaper Windows RT devices Schmoock is talking about, the ThinkPad tablet will run Windows 8, which puts it in line with the enterprise-heavy ThinkPad brand.

This is a difference that Lenovo is eager to underscore. “The ThinkPad tablet is focused [on going] after the business individual; the Surface is more geared towards the consumer offering,” Thinkpad VP Dilip Bhatia said earlier this month.

Not that Lenovo isn’t eyeing the consumer market as well: The company has already been confirmed as a Windows RT partner, and there are rumors that its previously announced Yogapad tablet will go Windows RT as well.

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Long battery life, small size, and multitouch screens: That’s what Microsoft is promising its PC partners will soon deliver using a version of Windows 8 known as Windows RT. Today, the company delivered some specifics.

With Windows RT, hardware makers Dell, Asus, Lenovo, and Samsung (all of which Microsoft confirmed as Windows RT partners today) will be able to bridge the gap between notebooks and tablets more effectively. They’ll be able to sell products that have the capabilities, interface, and keyboards of a laptop — but the battery life, instant-on abilities, and simplicity of a tablet. Microsoft gave a glimpse of those products to come in a blog post by Windows group president Steven Sinofsky today.

Windows RT is a variant of Windows designed to run on ARM-based processors from NVIDIA, Qualcomm, and Texas Instruments (instead of the x86-based chips from Intel and AMD that Windows has typically required up to now.) ARM processors are cheaper and require less power than x86 chips, although they’re less powerful. They’ve been widely used in smartphones and tablets but haven’t made much of a splash in more capable computing platforms yet. Windows 8 and Windows RT have been released to manufacturers (RTMed) on August 1 and should be shipping to consumers starting October 26.

One of the attractions of ARM-based computers is that they’ll have incredibly long battery life. They’ll also boast small sizes and should be able to wake from standby in a very short amount of time, just like your phone. They’ll also have a feature Microsoft calls “Connected Standby,” which allows the computer to keep your data, such as an email account, up to date, even in its standby mode.

On the downside, Microsoft Office for Windows RT will be missing some features.

In addition to Asus, Dell, Lenovo, and Samsung, Microsoft is working on its own tablet, the Surface, which will also be available in a version running Windows RT.

Here are some of the typical specs Microsoft says you can expect from early Windows RT systems:

• HD video playback time: 8 hours to 13 hours
• Standby time: 320 hours to 409 hours of scenario run time
• Weight: 1.1 to 2.6 pounds
• Length: 10.4 to 11.7 inches
• Width: 6.6 to 8 inches
• Thickness: 0.3 to 0.6 inches

Photo credit: Microsoft

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

We’ve known since February that Microsoft was preparing new touch-enabled Office apps for Windows RT, but now it seems those tablet-focused Office apps won’t have as many features as their desktop siblings.

Microsoft will reportedly remove key features from Office 2013 RT, including VBA scripting, macros, and third-party plug-ins, a source tells The Verge. The move is meant to make the apps more reliable and less of a strain on battery life — which are especially important considerations for Windows RT, since it’s the version of Windows 8 meant for tablets running ARM processors.

Additionally, the Verge says Microsoft will ship a preview version of Office 2013 RT with Windows RT devices, which will likely allow you to view and lightly edit Office documents and will be upgradeable to the full version of Office in early 2013. This isn’t too surprising, since PC makers have been shipping Office preview versions in their computers since the release of Windows XP (and possibly earlier).

Microsoft isn’t commenting on the report, but if it’s true, the company could see flack from serious Office users over removing features like VBA scripting. It would be difficult for businesses to adopt Windows RT devices when they don’t know if their Office documents will be fully compatible with the new platform.

And if it lacks key Office features, Windows RT runs the risk of being more of a casual computing platform, rather than the lean and mean productivity platform Microsoft is pitching.

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

It was only a matter of time before Microsoft’s hardware partners began publicly criticizing the Surface tablet, Microsoft’s first stab at building its own computing hardware.

Acer CEO JT Wang is the first PC maker head to voice his displeasure about the Surface, in an interview with the Financial Times yesterday.

“We have said [to Microsoft] think it over,” Wang told the Financial Times. “Think twice. It will create a huge negative impact for the ecosystem, and other brands may take a negative reaction. It is not something you are good at so please think twice.”

Reading between the lines, the true meaning of Wang’s comments is hard to ignore: He’s terrified of the Surface, because it may just prove that Microsoft doesn’t need to rely on fourth-tier manufacturers like Acer. The sentiment isn’t surprising, after all Microsoft basically betrayed its longstanding arrangement with PC makers by announcing the Surface so close to the launch of Windows 8. With the Surface, Microsoft is getting most of the spotlight with Windows 8 computers, instead of its hardware partners.

Campbell Kan, Acer’s personal computing president, also mentioned to the Financial Times that Acer may have to look at alternative software now that Microsoft is in the hardware game. (Of course Acer has no choice, unless it wants to bet the entire company on Linux.)

Last month, we also saw comments from Acer vice president Oliver Ahrens predicting that the Surface will fail. At this point, Acer isn’t even trying to hide that it’s quaking in its boots over the impending Surface launch.

And the company has good reason to be afraid: When was the last time Acer has made a truly compelling device? Acer may be the fourth-largest PC maker in the world (by shipments), but a stroll through Best Buy will show you that it got there by building cheap, low-quality machines. If Microsoft can deliver the Surface at a low price, Acer can kiss much of its business goodbye.

Photo James Pikover/VentureBeat

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Microsoft has confirmed that its slick-looking Surface tablet will launch on Oct. 26, the same day the company releases its Windows 8 operating system, as noted in its annual report to the SEC.

“The next version of our operating system, Windows 8, will be generally available on October 26, 2012,” Microsoft wrote in the report. “At that time, we will begin selling the Surface, a series of Microsoft-designed and manufactured hardware devices.”

While this is all Microsoft has said about the Surface’s availability, we can infer that this will be the launch of an ARM-based version of the tablet running Windows RT. Windows RT is a light-weight version of the OS that will have Office pre-installed. Microsoft will release an Intel-based Surface tablet running Windows 8 Pro 90 days after it ships the ARM-based version with RT.

Surface is Microsoft’s bold attempt to finally build its own PC hardware, and the device could become a legit high-end competitor to Apple’s iPad, especially at enterprises that are wary of iOS. The Surface is incredibly thin at just 9.33 millimeters, and it sports a 10.6-inch display. We can’t wait to get our hands on it to try it out.

h/t CNET

Surface photo: Microsoft

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

As if on cue, the rampant speculation about Microsoft’s mysterious LA event today reached new heights over the weekend. Initially believed to be a tablet related announcement, more recent reports indicated that it could be the debut of a new device developed together with Barnes & Noble.

But the bookseller threw cold water on those rumors this morning, as spokespeople confirmed with several sites that Barnes & Noble isn’t involved in today’s event. It’s unlikely that B&N is lying — if the company wanted to keep its involvement secret, it wouldn’t be offering any definitive statements to the press.

Many pointed to Microsoft’s massive $300 million partnership with B&N as a reason for its involvement, but that never made much sense to me, as the companies only announced that deal in late April. Even if they were working together for months prior, it would still take much more time to develop a product mature enough to show off. And would it even make sense for B&N to develop another tablet-like device, since it already has the Nook Tablet?

With B&N out, it seems more likely than ever that Microsoft will unveil its own tablets today — something that could end up being a major concern for all of those Windows 8 and Windows RT manufacturing partners. At this point, I’m not holding out much hope that a Microsoft-branded tablet would do well.

VentureBeat will be reporting live at Microsoft’s LA event later today, which is set to begin at 3:30pm PST at an undisclosed location.

Via Business Insider

Design is determining the winners in everything mobile. The most successful players are focusing on one thing: How to make products, services, and devices as compelling and delightful as possible – visually, and experientially. MobileBeat 2012, July 10-11 in San Francisco , is assembling the most elite minds to debate how UI/UX is transforming every aspect of the mobile economy, and where the opportunities lie. Register here.

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

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You’d think the first Microsoft tablet worth getting excited about would be coming from Nokia, but AllThingsD’s Ina Fried is reporting that Microsoft is gearing up to launch its own iPad competitor at a Los Angeles event next week.

Of course, this doesn’t make very much sense. Microsoft has traditionally struggled to find success with its own branded hardware (the Xbox 360 is one exception, but even that took billions before it became profitable), and we know Nokia is working on a Windows 8 tablet. (Entertainment website The Wrap separately reported something similar last night.)

“Sources say that Microsoft concluded that it needs its own tablet, with the company designing both the hardware and software in an effort to better compete against Apple’s strengths,” Fried wrote. “Microsoft’s tablets may include machines running ARM-based processors as well as models running on traditional PC processors, sources said.”

The pitfalls are obvious. Microsoft is already building up Windows 8 and Windows RT to be strong tablet operating systems, but it will need support from hardware manufacturers to truly make them a success. By building its own tablet, Microsoft would be directly competing against other Windows tablet makers — something that didn’t work out too well for Microsoft’s “Play for Sure” device partners when the Zune was released.

And with Microsoft dumping tons of cash into Nokia as part of its Windows Phone partnership, wouldn’t it make more sense to push Nokia’s eventual Windows tablet as the Microsoft flagship? Nokia actually knows how to make killer hardware, as the recently released Lumia series of Windows Phones shows.

Photo: Dylan Tweney/VentureBeat

Design is determining the winners in everything mobile. The most successful players are focusing on one thing: How to make products, services, and devices as compelling and delightful as possible – visually, and experientially. MobileBeat 2012, July 10-11 in San Francisco , is assembling the most elite minds to debate how UI/UX is transforming every aspect of the mobile economy, and where the opportunities lie. Register here.

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Were you holding out for an inexpensive Windows 8 tablet this holiday season? Probably not, but still, the option for cheap Windows 8 tablets appears to be gone now that a VR-Zone report says Microsoft will charge $85 for a license of Windows RT.

Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 8 operating system will likely debut late in the third quarter of this year, and with it will come tablets, desktops, laptops, and hybrid devices all running the new OS. Many tech watchers, including me, find Windows 8 to work best on tablets and see it as a potential area Windows 8 could succeed. But the news that a copy of Windows 8 for ARM-based tablets will cost at least $85 diminishes the hope of producing an ultra-cheap tablet like manufacturers have created with the free Android OS.

The report indicates that the high cost of the OS will drive up the price of Windows 8 tablets. At launch, Win 8 tablets will cost at least between $550 and $800, which is a scary price point to start at when the iPad 2 retails for $400 and the new iPad starts at $500. Premium Windows 8 tablets will likely run between $800 and $900.

Microsoft declined to provide us with an official comment on the report or pricing for Windows RT.

Windows 8 tablet photo: Dylan Tweney/VentureBeat

Microsoft has finally shed some light on the different versions of Windows 8 we’ll see upon release, and thankfully, things are much simpler than past versions.

This time around, there are only three flavors Microsoft is pushing heavily: Windows 8, the version geared towards most consumers; Windows 8 Pro, for enterprise and enthusiast users; and Windows RT, which is the new name for Windows on low-power ARM processors (previously called WOA).

And fret not, IT workers. Microsoft says another version of the OS, Windows 8 Enterprise, will be available to organizations with Software Assurance agreements. It’s basically an offshoot of Windows 8 Pro, since it contains all of the features of that version plus an increased IT-management feature.

Notably, Windows RT will only be available pre-installed on ARM-powered devices like tablets and ultraportable laptops, so you’ll only have to worry about the other two versions of Windows 8 when deciding to upgrade your current computer. (For Media Center fans, Microsoft says it will be available as an “economical add-on pack” for Windows 8 Pro.)

The standard version of Windows 8 will include all of the great features we’ve already seen in the OS, including the new tablet-friendly Metro interface, updated Windows Explorer, and support for new Metro apps. Windows 8 Pro will add encryption, virtualization, PC management, and domain connection features, according Windows Communication Manager Brandon LeBlanc.

As we’ve covered previously, Windows RT will include touch-optimized Office apps. Explaining the Windows RT name, LeBlanc said the focus of the OS is on the new Windows runtime, which “forms the foundation of a new generation of cloud-enabled, touch-enabled, web-connected apps of all kinds.”

Below, check out a comparison chart between the three versions of Windows 8.

Photo via Devindra Hardawar/VentureBeat