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Microsoft is rumored to cut the price of Windows 8 for tablets by 35-40 percent, according to Topeka Capital analyst Brian White. White is on a "China-Taiwan Technology Tour" talking to people in the industry. Currently, according to White's source, the tablet price for Windows is the same as the desktop/laptop pricing. If Microsoft is going to compete with Android, which is taking over the world, it needs to lower its price. Google's software is free. And it's just as good, if not better than, Windows on a tablet. Since consumers aren't clamoring to buy Windows-based tablets, there's little reason...

PC makers may not be satisfied with Windows 8 hardware sales, but at least they needn't worry about Microsoft's Surface tablets swallowing the industry whole. According to AdDuplex, Microsoft's Surface RT only accounts for 6.8 percent of Windows 8/RT devices, at least among those that accessed the firm's cross-promotion ad network. That's still good for the top slot, however, with the HP Pavilion G6 proving to be the second most-popular device with a 4.2 percent share. The Intel Core i5-packing Surface Pro was barely a blip, ranking as the 52nd-most common Windows 8 device. Keep in mind that AdDuplex's stats...

By most indications, Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT  ) foray into hardware is meeting, if not exceeding, expectations. Of course, you'll never hear that from CEO Steve Ballmer, and by extension the rest of Microsoft's management team. Ballmer is notoriously hush-hush about sales results, and not just those pertaining to Microsoft's new Surface tablet; most anything to do with what he views as "predictions" are taboo.For example, when the Wall Street Journal asked about early sales of Microsoft's Surface a week or so back, his response was vintage Ballmer, "Numerically there's not really much that's interesting to report. If you were to call...

I’ve been playing around with Microsoft's Surface tablet for several days now and suddenly realized that I’m using it very differently than any other tablet or laptop I’ve ever owned. It seemed to come to me naturally, but this little device has really improved the quality of my life. Personally, I think Surface represents more than just a new product and should be pereceived as the beginning of a new way of blending work and play. Then again, it may not come as naturally to many of you and I think that aspect of Surface deserves some further discussion. Working...

Microsoft is onto something. With Windows 8 it's better positioned than both Apple and Google to ride the coming laptop-tablet convergence wave.It might even eventually give Microsoft a shot at the all-important smartphone market. To understand why, let's count the ways in which Windows 8 is best.1. Tablet-laptop convergence Laptops and tablets are converging. And only Microsoft has an OS that's fit for that coming unification of devices.Apple has no convergence strategy at this time. That's because it fiercely guards product-specific profit streams and just doesn't go in for making things that cannibalise its own sales.So, Mac Mini is hobbled...

Ordered a Microsoft Surface tablet? You may not see it for several weeks. Although Microsoft is expected to officially start selling its Windows 8-powered tablet later this week, demand for the device has reportedly been high in the US, and delivery of many pre-ordered Surfaces has been pushed back for several weeks. Meanwhile, according to ZDNet, in England, the 32GB Surface, which retails for £399 has sold out completely. (Other models appear to still be available.) In a statement obtained by CNET, Microsoft said that consumers unable to order a Surface online could go to a brick-and-mortar Microsoft outlet, where...

Microsoft Stores are reportedly taking reservations for the company's Surface tablet, promising to hold stock for eager early-adopters hoping to pick up one of the Windows RT slates on Friday next week. The voucher, apparently being handed out at Microsoft Stores and pop-up stores according to WPCentral, is only valid on October 26 and doesn't appear to specify which Surface it can be exchanged for.That would apparently mean that even those with reservation passes may need to get to their local store early if they want to be confident of snagging the Surface bundle of their choice. Microsoft will be...

Microsoft has exhausted its initial supply of the lowest-priced Surface RT tablet, which now is backordered by three weeks. On Wednesday, the company's pre-order website noted, "Order now for shipment within 3 weeks" for the $499 32GB tablet. That model lacks a cover-cum-keyboard. Microsoft yesterday kicked off pre-orders for the Surface RT, its first entry into tablet design and manufacturing. The Surface RT comes in three configurations: a 32GB model at $499, a 32GB device with a Touch Cover for $599, and a 64GB model with that same cover at $699. Touch Covers are also available separately for $119.99, and...

A few weeks ago, I urged Microsoft to shake up the tablet market by selling Surface at a radically low price: $150 or less. Crazy? Perhaps. But I wasn’t alone. Vivek Wadhwa made a similar argument here.So it was disappointing today to see the company announce the starting price of $499. Sure, it puts it in range with Apple’s iPad. But it feels timid. It feels like a price that says: What’s the lowest we can go to match Apple? Microsoft seems to be betting that it will win on features when consumers compare the iPad to the Surface...

AMD is launching its first tablet-optimized APU today, in a bid to challenge Intel's de facto dominance of the Windows 8 tablet market. Dubbed Hondo, the new Z-60 draws less power than any Brazos-based part AMD has launched before. Some of you may remember that AMD launched a tablet processor last year, but the Z-01 -- codenamed Desna -- was an ordinary Brazos core that binned well enough to run within a lower power envelope. It was more a proof-of-concept chip, meant to demonstrate that AMD could, and would, compete in the tablet market. Hondo, in contrast, is a new...

How Windows 8 will shake up the laptop market Dozens of new laptops and tablets are coming with the Window 8 launch. Here's what you need to know ahead of time. by Dan Ackerman September 21, 2012 4:12 PM PDT Follow @danackerman Starting October 26, laptop shoppers will be inundated with a flood of new PCs designed around Microsoft's new operating system. In fact, I've counted about 50 new laptops, tablets, hybrids, convertibles, and all-in-ones on my back-of-the-envelope list already. Related stories Top-rated reviews of the week (pictures)Kindle Fire HD vs. iPadiPhone 5 matches monthlong sales figures for 4S in...

The new mobile device is thinner than the Kindle Touch, and features a battery life of up to eight weeks, and is priced at $179. The Kindle Paperwhite is 9mm thin, or about a third of an inch, and weighs 7.5 ounces.

<p>As we get closer to the launch of Microsoft’s new version of Windows, a clearer picture is emerging about what the tablet landscape will look like at launch.</p> <p>We already know about the flagship Windows tablet, of course: Microsoft’s own Surface, which Engadget recently reported may have a price tag of $199. That would put the company in a very good position to sell against Google’s Nexus 7, Amazon’s Kindle Fire and, most importantly, Apple’s iPad.</p>

Australian chief information officers (CIOs) have been impressed with Microsoft's answer to the iPad — the Microsoft Surface — which was announced last month. Two tablet variants have been announced; one running Windows RT on an Nvidia ARM processor, and the other running Windows 8 Pro on an Intel Core i5 system. Both devices have a 10.6-inch display employing Corning Gorilla Glass 2. Because Microsoft is so late to the market with its tablet — the iPad was launched in 2010 — it has been stated that the Surface's only chance of success is in the business market, which will...

Google has officially unveiled its very first own-brand tablet. We've been hearing rumors about a Google/Asus tablet collaboration for several months now. Today, at Google I/O, the search giant confirmed its partnership with Asus and showed off the fruits of their combined labor: The Asus Nexus 7.

-------snip------- Built-In Kickstand: Microsoft believes a stand should be an integral part of a tablet's design. (Take that, iPad!) The Surface's built-in kickstand is made of the same sturdy VaporMg material--more on this later--that encases the slate. "The hinge design is like that of the finest luxury car," said Microsoft's Steven Sinofsky, sounding a bit like a car salesman. The stand does look ideal for landscape-mode viewing. But how well will it work in portrait mode? Skinny Genes: You've gotta be thin to compete with the iPad. The Surface for Windows RT is 9.3 millimeters thick--or "thin," as the marketing...

... The market may not need a Windows tablet, but Microsoft desperately does. The company has been steadily -- some might say, inexorably -- falling behind in the new era of computing, the era in which the ability to easily access information is more important than the operating system or computing device we use to do it. Microsoft still hasn't understood this, failing to become a significant force in smartphones or tablets, mainly because it's working from an outdated model of being the Great Copier. Microsoft has always mimicked other technologies, from graphical interfaces to Web browsing to financial software....

Watch out, Apple. Microsoft’s mystery announcement is out of the bag and it’s giving the iPad a run for its money. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer unveiled Microsoft Surface, a new tablet that heads a “whole new family of Microsoft computing devices,” Ballmer announced at the mystery event at the Milk Studios in Hollywood, Calif., Monday afternoon. From what we’ve seen and heard, the Surface tablet is perhaps the first serious competitor to Apple’s iPad tablet. What’s more, it’s got the capability of a PC – as good for creating content as it is for consuming, according to Ballmer’s highly anticipated...

Microsoft Store in Century City, Calif. Finding a local Microsoft Store will be a challenge for hands-on consumers looking to try out the Surface tablet. (Credit: Brooke Crothers)After all of the hoopla this week, you would think the Surface tablet was the end of the PC industry as we know it. Not so fast, say analysts. What we know so far is that Surface will be sold through Microsoft Stores only in the U.S. -- the online store and brick-and-mortar outlets. Ever been to a Microsoft Store? Didn't think so. There just aren't that many. I count about 20. Compare...

It should not be a surprise that physcians are not fans of Microsoft products -- namely Windows and Internet Explorer. Much of this hatred is due to hospital enterprise solutions still using outdated versions of Internet Explorer. Ask a physician friend to fill you in if you need a better idea. On a personal note, I had been dreading the forthcoming Microsoft tablet because I know Microsoft products make hospital health IT departments salivate. We commented last year how many hospital IT departments cite physicians using the iPad at work as their biggest headache. I knew as soon as Microsoft...