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To: pyslent who wrote (131146)	4/17/2012 11:34:14 AM
From: zax	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 213182

If x86 tablets can achieve near iPad form factors, I see very little reason for Windows RT/ Windows on Arm tablets to exist. This is one reason I feel my NOK investment is to a degree, backstopped. The success of x86 Windows 8 is assured. The success of Windows 8 on Arm (now called Windows RT) is not. I am certain MS is very, very concerned about this. My guess is Nokia/Dell become very important here. I wouldn't put it past MS to give Nokia another huge pile of cash to help ensure a truly dedicated Win RT platform push and unique device showcasing it. Samsung will put out a Win8 RT device for sure; but they continually hedge their bets with Android and try to be all things to all people. My two cents.

To: pyslent who wrote (131146)	4/17/2012 1:28:41 PM
From: XoFruitCake	1 Recommendation Respond to of 213182

This specs would be amazing for a Windows 8 tablet based on x86. If x86 tablets can achieve near iPad form factors, I see very little reason for Windows RT/ Windows on Arm tablets to exist. Cost maybe, but I would be willing to pay a $100-200 premium for x86 compatibility. I think if Window can hold on to the business market, it will be great achievement. I am a fairy typical consumer. I don't have Apple anything until Ipad 3 launch and my family got me an Ipad as a surprise gift. I used Window all my life. I don't see any window app that I need to run on tablet except Quicken and I definitely don't want to bring all my financial account information in a tablet.. So I end up with no need for a Window tablet. Corporate purchase work very differently than consumer purchase (I managed a department that handled our lab's mainframe support for a couple years early in my career). They will have pilot program set up with all the big shot has the new toy, get their feed back, figuring out what area can use the new toy better than the old toy, and the OVERALL COST of ownership over the lifetime of the toy (and that include purchase price, maintenance, software cost and training cost). I think Window 8 is going to have a hill to climb on the training side. It only take a few vocal frustrating users in an organization to derail the entire purchase order. Their target user base is not techie but office worker who are familiar with classic window mouse/keyboard interface and Android/IOS interface on mobile device. They can easily get scare or frustrate by unfamiliar interface. Once they roll it out to wider user base in 13, we can see how well that transition will be. Given the kind of scheduling, the corporate purchase won't seriously pick up until 2Q13 (me think) if they launch the Window tablet in 4Q12. And at the end of the day, I think cost is going to be the invisible hands that drive corporate and consume switch from labopt/notebook to tablet. And it is not just the hardware cost which was dominated by proprietary vs open design, semiconductor manufacturing process, licensing/patent fee, and volume. But the software cost is going to play a tremendous role in that decision. PC software used to cost $30-$50 a pop and once you open it you own it. IOS/Android world work very differently. You got to try out the version (.e.g my wifey CEO like to play Cut the Rope after trying out the free version and we purchase the full version) and only pay for the one you want (and the in-app purchase as well.. 8-)). And it cost $5-6. And then you throw in all those free app that are decent quality that one have to pay in Window PC land. All of a sudden the $100 to $200 price difference can balloon to $300 to $400 price difference and we are talking about a purchase that is 500-800 if you want an Apple and 200 to 800 if you want an Android. And there are not many new software development effort on PC land anymore given the focus on IOS and Android based apps. The hottest programmer (the guy I talked to about facebook games in-app purchase went through job hunting a few months back and has first hand experience) is IOS and Andriod programmer and there are very little demand for Window based programmers now. I think this is a pretty good indication of where the software industry think is the winner in this derby. The next Amazon Fire (if you believe the rumor spec that is floating around on the web now), they can positively destroy window tablet on cost area once the corporation factor into the software and maintenance cost. And I think Ipad should be fearful of Fire as well. If the feature is close enough, it will take away a lot of the marginal tablet buyer in the next round. The competitive position is going to be very different if Apple has 60-70% market share in tablet vs 30-40% market share even though they may make tons of money with smaller market share. The ecosystem (i.e more good quality apps) will shift to Android if Apple does not absolutely own the space.