[SmokingJoe]

Zune HD In terms of design and build quality. XBOX 360 in terms of fuctionality, the superb XBOX Live and sales and market share.

[Izzy Dunne]

And it took them 3-4 versions of each one before they figured out that people wanted something that didn't suck.

Will the tablet be any different?

[mnehring]

I think it may come down to pricing. All of the decent tablets with decent memory (iPad, Xyboard, Xoom) run in the $500+ range.

If they can create a tablet that is Kindle priced and doesn’t require service contracts with a provider (Imagine a $99 WiFi w/ no service contract from a wireless carrier) it would break open a lot of markets.

[freedumb2003]

After 10 versions they can’t get something that should be as intuitive as Windows Media Player right.

Windows Mobile has always sucked.

They expect me to believe that now they figured out how real human beings interact with devices?

Color me skeptical.

[AFreeBird]

Does MS still sell the Xbox at a loss, or are they finally making a profit from it?

[stylin19a]

Rumor has it Zune is to renamed xbox music

http://www.thewindowsclub.com/microsoft-kill-zune-brand-introduces-xbox-music-features-services

[VanDeKoik]

Why dont we ask the internet?

“OMG I hate M$. This is gonna be so FAIL. M$$$$ needs to go out of business and stay out of EVERYTHING. Windows8 is retarded ugly! Vista 33.0!!!! Open source is the future! Ipad rulz! Nobody I know likes Windbloz 8. Steve Ballmer is a monkey boy!!!!!”

So yeah I guess that clears that up.

[dayglored]

Setting aside the typical fanboy blind support for products that haven't appeared and therefore haven't been evaluated much less succeeded or failed yet(*), I hope that Microsoft has used their long delay time wisely and will introduce a solid product with a well thought-out plan for how to make it compete against the deeply entrenched iOS and Android products.

Hardware-wise, over the years Microsoft has had a few great products and a number of embarrassing failures.

Software-wise, I've been working with advance copies of Window 8 for the better part of a year, and I think it'll probably do well on touch-based hand-helds given a solid hardware platform to run on. (I personally can't stand it on a desktop or laptop without touch, but that's irrelevant for a tablet which is touch by definition.)

I think Microsoft is very smart to do their own hardware on this. I honestly wish them the very best of luck, given that they're so late starting out of the gate, and at such a disadvantage market-wise.

(*) Which applies equally to the fanboys of Microsoft, Apple, Linux, etc.

[dayglored]

You guys may be interested.

ShadowAce: Probably warrants a Tech Ping, there being no "Microsoft Ping List" or "Windows Ping List" as such.

Swordmaker: This is more a personal ping than a request for a list ping. I respectfully advise against an Apple ping, given that this is a purely Microsoft/Windows thread and deserves a chance to have a reasonable discussion without getting disrupted (taking a cue from the Apple threads which have historically been pounded on and disrupted by Apple-haters).

[Bobalu]

Only the fool gives MS a less than 80% chance of eventually dominating the tablet market.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

Microsoft Rule #1: Never buy version 1.0 of anything Microsoft puts out. Wait for version 3.0. No, it won't be complete, but with work, it may float.

Microsoft Rule #2: Since you are signing up to provide lifetime, unpaid, support to your own product, consider your new purchase your new hobby.

... and so it goes

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Not only does their hardware suck, some of their OS software is equally sucky:

[HiTech RedNeck]

So how long before Ubuntu is running well on it?

[Myrddin]

The industry rags are saying Win 8 is fine for tablets, terrible for desktop/laptoo. The desktop/laptop users should stick with Win 7.

[dayglored]

When will somebody please start a Microsoft or Windows ping list? I would do it if I had the time. Alas, I don’t.

If you do start one, please add me to it. Thanks!

[ShadowAce]

[ShadowAce]