Microsoft Encouraging More Tablets

Several hardware makers are teaming up with Microsoft, in an attempt to give Apple a run for its money. They're looking to release a number of Windows-based tablet computers that can compete with Apple's iPad. At least 21 manufacturers were mentioned, including Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Asus, Toshiba, Sony, Lenovo, and Panasonic.

The news was announced by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer on Monday, July 12, at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference, "This year one of the most important things that we will do in the smart device category is really push forward with Windows 7-based slates and Windows 7 phones. Over the course of the next several months, you will see a range of Windows 7-based slates that I think you'll find quite impressive. This is a terribly important area for us. We are hardcore about this."

He added, "They'll come with keyboards, they'll come without keyboards, they'll be dockable, there'll be many form factors, many price points, many sizes, but they will all run Windows 7. They will run Windows 7 applications. They will run Office."

Ballmer did admit Microsoft failed with Windows Mobile and is unable to compete with iPhone, Droids, and Blackberrys. On the other hand, he says Windows Phone 7 has received, "great reviews, really quite remarkable reviews." The company's mobile phone partners were listed to include Samsung, Dell, Asus, Toshiba, Garmin, Sony Ericsson, and HTC.

Ballmer also talked at length about cloud computing - Windows Azure - and its "new opportunity." He says cloud enables Microsoft to help customers "streamline their operations and improve their agility." Ballmer also says, "The world of tomorrow is a world of a smart cloud talking to smart devices roam your information across the internet. We are at an inflection point in technology history...for customers, cloud computing creates tremendous value, which translates to massive opportunity for Microsoft and its partners."

According to Microsoft, eBay, Fujitsu, Dell, and HP will be using Windows Azure appliances. Dell says the platform will be useful for delivering cloud services to small and medium-sized businesses.

Other news from Microsoft included news that they've sold 150 million licenses for Windows 7 since its launch in October, 2009.

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Don't Trade That Book in for an iPad Just Yet

iPads and eReaders are all the rage these days because people love the thoughts of being able to read on the go with the electronic devices - no turning pages, no losing your place, and no carrying multiple books around when you know you're going to have lots of time on your hands. Seems convenient, right? But according to a recent study by Dr. Jakob Nielson of the Nielsen Norman Group, a product development consultancy, reading on an iPad or a Kindle is a lot more time-consuming than reading good old fashioned ink and paper.

The study compared 24 users' reading times using Kindle 2, iPad's iBooks application, and an actual book. For the most part, reading on either of the electronic gadgets took almost 11% longer than reading a regularly printed book. But despite the increase in time taken, those who participated said they preferred the electronic devices to books. The study also looked at reading books on a regular PC monitor - something that was given all around negative reviews from participants.

The participants were people who describe themselves as people who like to read and read often. They read short stories by Ernest Hemingway on the four different platforms. Their reading speeds were measured, as was reading comprehension. It took each user an average of 17 minutes and 20 seconds to read each story on all four platforms and their reading comprehension was not affected by the platform used.

Statistics for the PC monitor weren't released by Nielsen but the numbers for the other platforms stacked up like this: compared to the paper books, readers read 6.2% slower on the iPad and even slower on the Kindle 2 at 10.7%. Sort of ironic considering the Kindle 2 is designed specifically for reading. But Nielsen dismissed the difference in time between the iPad and Kindle, saying the difference was not significant and shouldn't be considered when consumers are shopping for new gadgets.

Participants were also asked to rate how much they liked reading on each platform. They were given a scale of 1 to 7 with 7 being the greatest. The iPad was rated 5.8, Kindle 5.7 and printed book 5.6 - not a whole lot of difference there. But the PC monitor ranked at just 3.6. Reasons for disliking the PC monitor included that it was not as relaxing as the other gadgets and that users felt like they were at work when using it.

So what does this mean? In the long run, nothing. PC World asks what would happen if the study had looked ages. Would people in their 20's, who have been using digital screens for their entire life, prefer the Kindle or iPad, or read faster on it? Would people in their 60's be more set in their ways and prefer the printed page? Also, the study only included 24 participants - that's a pretty small group and not really representative of the general public.

One thing is for sure. digital books and eReaders are becoming more and more popular in the last couple of years. This year, eBook sales have grown at a rate of 217% from last year. But in my opinion, you still can't beat a good old-fashioned book.

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2 Million iPads in 2 Months

While most people were gathered around their barbecues and remembering fallen soldiers, Apple was proclaiming the iPad the greatest computer in the world, ever! OK, not really, but they did announce that since its launch about two months ago, they've sold over two million iPads. The iPad, which shipped on April 3 of this year, hit stores in Europe, Canada, Australia, and Japan just last Friday. Crowds lined the streets in those countries, while the Apple online store has been swamped with purchases - a seven to ten day wait is being placed on new orders.

Steve Jobs talked about the shortage in a statement, "We appreciate patience, and are working hard to build enough iPads for everyone." When announced in January, Wall Street analysts projected the iPad would only sell anywhere from 175,000 to 778,000 units a month. You can bet Steven Jobs is thrilled to prove them wrong.

While the iPad hit stores in April, technically, they could be pre-ordered as early as March 12 in the United States. That was eleven weeks ago. Apple's numbers break down to show that in those eleven weeks, 181,818 iPads were sold per week. If they keep that up for the rest of 2010, the company will sell over 7.6 million of the tablet computers.

But could that number grow even larger? You betcha! Now that sales have expanded to other countries, with nine more countries being added in July and even more later in the year, sales should be a lot higher. Apple is no stranger to these kinds of sales numbers. Last summer, the iPhone 3GS sold over a million units in the first three days they were on the market.

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Dell Has a Tablet Computer Too...

For the last few months, in the tech and gadget world, the Apple iPad, has been all the rage. But Apple isn't the only company working on a tablet computer. Dell, for example, is currently working on building the Mini 5 (though the name may change). According to the company, the five-inch touchscreen will debut in "a couple of months," but they wouldn't give away any pricing information. The iPad will sell for anywhere from $500 - $830.

The Mini 5 will feature a five-megapixel camera on the back, as well a front-facing webcam-like camera that can be used for video-conferencing. In addition, it will have a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity options, and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 1-GHz processor. It will run Google's Android operating system (version 2.0 or higher), and has a 16:9 aspect ratio - the iPad's is 4:3. Due to the size, it'll look more like a Sony PSP than an iPad.

Wired.com spoke to Neeraj Choubey, the general manager of the tablets division at Dell and he had this to say about the device, "It’s a device optimized for media consumption. It will offer the full web-browsing experience so you have something that you are holding in your hand that replaces everything the smartphone does and takes on quite a bit of the features of a laptop."

He also said the computer will be the first in a series. Others would have varying screen sizes, potentially creating better competition for the iPad. Most people don't realize that tablet computers have been around for years; they just aren't very popular. Many experts believe the iPad will change all that and drive up the competition. With the Mini 5 coming out, this is something Dell seems to understand.

Dell already sells some mobile products, but not in the United States. Its smartphones are available in Brazil and China. The Mini 5 would most likely take advantage of the apps that are available on the smartphones. Also, it's expected to have specialized tools, programs for business users, strong movies and music experience, web surfing, flash, and quick access to email, YouTube, Amazon's MP3 store. In addition, it will have spreadsheet, presentation maker, and documents, as well as supporting voice recognition. All of these features will set the standard for Dell's entire line of tablets.

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