Microsoft promised new form factors with the launch of Windows 8, and it
looks like Asus is about to deliver one in the form of the much-rumored
Transformer AiO.
Unlike the Windows 8 hybrid tablet/laptops that are starting to appear, the
Transformer AiO is part of a new class of hybrid desktop (or "table PC"), like
the Lenovo Horizon and Sony Tap 20. Unlike those models, the new Asus actually
has a solid release date of the early second quarter.
The Transformer AiO takes the form of a massive 18.4-inch touchscreen with
1,920x1,080 resolution that can work either as a tablet or, when attached to its
base station, as a desktop. As a slate, it uses a Tegra 3 processor with 32GB of
internal storage. You can even switch from Windows 8 to Android for its full
lineup of apps. If you want to stay in Windows 8 mode, the display essentially
serves as a remote desktop wirelessly connected via the base station.
When docked, the Transformer AiO becomes a traditional Windows 8 desktop
(albeit one with a touchscreen), using Intel Core processors, a traditional hard
drive, and a Nvidia GeForce GT 730M mobile graphics card. As giant a screen as
it is for a tablet, the 18.4-inch monitor isn't so massive for desktop use, but
it's a compromise you'd presumably make if you want the hybrid features of the
device.
The Transformer AiO will start at $1,299 when it starts shipping early in
the second quarter, which isn't exactly the type of mainstream pricing that will
move the big units that Microsoft envisions. However, this may be the start of a
trend that transforms desktop computing, with pricing eventually easing as the
concept catches on. (Then again, even Asus itself says that Windows 8 sales
haven't lifted off yet.)
Do you have an interest in buying the Transformer AiO? Do you think it's
the model for a new wave of desktop computing, or that it will be a dead end?
Let us know your thoughts in the Talkback section below.
2013年3月11日星期一
Even before Windows 8 released, analysts
Even before Windows 8 released, analysts were being skeptical about the new
OS's potential customers in the business. Because then, the re-imagined
variation of Microsoft's flagship product or service has posted a mixed file
that compares modestly into the debut of its wildly preferred predecessor, Home
windows seven. The improve has been out there for under four months, so Windows
8's fate is way from prepared, specially along with the Area Pro just becoming
obtainable plus more potent Ultrabooks on the way. However, tendencies advise
that businesses will continue on to wait on Windows eight, which Microsoft may
have to attend until eventually Home windows 9 to reassert its business
status.
In an electronic mail, Paulo Camara, head of mobility products and services at IT business Ci&T, said that it's possible Windows 8 adoption will pick up later this year, but because the "next Home windows version certainly will include the strengths of Home windows eight and fix its main gaps," it "will have a faster adoption by enterprises." The important question, he said, is when this much more persuasive OS may possibly arrive. In the meantime, he stated that Windows eight devices will exist primarily within specific business verticals that can benefit from mobility, such as retail departments.
In an interview, Forrester analyst David Johnson similarly said that some companies are investigating Home windows 8 in "pockets" but that few have found anything urgent enough to compel a widespread deployment. "Everyone seems to like Windows 7," he said, adding that the reaction to Redmond's new OS among Forrester clients has long been "a mixed bag" which "most of the time, the iPad is perceived as simpler plus much more secure to support."
It's important to point out, though, that Microsoft's leaders surely foresaw weak enterprise sales when they devised their Windows 8 strategy. Leading up into the product's launch, most corporations were still either recouping Windows seven investments or while in the process of migrating to Windows 7 from Home windows XP. Given these conditions and the fact that Home windows 8's touch-centric interface could only be enjoyed on new hardware, it made extra financial sense for enterprises to improve conservatively, and companies have due to the fact found additional reasons, such as compatibility with existing workflows and resources, to stick with their current OS deployments as long as possible.
It's not that Windows 8 doesn't offer IT-friendly enhancements; rather, as Johnson noted in a Nov. 16 blog post, it's that the enhancements only add value for employees whose jobs involve mobility. For most purposes, Windows seven remains good enough. In another post, Johnson argued that consumers would drive Home windows eight adoption, echoing a point Gartner research director Gunnar Berger made in July.
Indeed, together with the computing landscape tipping toward mobile devices, touchscreens and BYOD, Microsoft found itself without a strong foothold in the markets that will matter most in the future. It needed to establish a presence in the consumer-driven mobile space while both supporting traditional users and conditioning them for the new touch interface.
"It's a strategy of hope that people want to gravitate toward the new interface," said Johnson. Unfortunately for Microsoft, Johnson said, "initial signs are not positive." Redmond might not have been banking on organization sales, but it's likely the company hoped for better traction from consumers, whose initial enthusiasm for Home windows eight tablets appears to have been dampened by experience along with the out there options.
Forthcoming devices could still reverse this trend, of course. Microsoft could still win by focusing on tablet mindshare over business adoption rates. Nevertheless, if consumers are currently a much more meaningful barometer than companies, the progress hasn't been auspicious.
In an electronic mail, Paulo Camara, head of mobility products and services at IT business Ci&T, said that it's possible Windows 8 adoption will pick up later this year, but because the "next Home windows version certainly will include the strengths of Home windows eight and fix its main gaps," it "will have a faster adoption by enterprises." The important question, he said, is when this much more persuasive OS may possibly arrive. In the meantime, he stated that Windows eight devices will exist primarily within specific business verticals that can benefit from mobility, such as retail departments.
In an interview, Forrester analyst David Johnson similarly said that some companies are investigating Home windows 8 in "pockets" but that few have found anything urgent enough to compel a widespread deployment. "Everyone seems to like Windows 7," he said, adding that the reaction to Redmond's new OS among Forrester clients has long been "a mixed bag" which "most of the time, the iPad is perceived as simpler plus much more secure to support."
It's important to point out, though, that Microsoft's leaders surely foresaw weak enterprise sales when they devised their Windows 8 strategy. Leading up into the product's launch, most corporations were still either recouping Windows seven investments or while in the process of migrating to Windows 7 from Home windows XP. Given these conditions and the fact that Home windows 8's touch-centric interface could only be enjoyed on new hardware, it made extra financial sense for enterprises to improve conservatively, and companies have due to the fact found additional reasons, such as compatibility with existing workflows and resources, to stick with their current OS deployments as long as possible.
It's not that Windows 8 doesn't offer IT-friendly enhancements; rather, as Johnson noted in a Nov. 16 blog post, it's that the enhancements only add value for employees whose jobs involve mobility. For most purposes, Windows seven remains good enough. In another post, Johnson argued that consumers would drive Home windows eight adoption, echoing a point Gartner research director Gunnar Berger made in July.
Indeed, together with the computing landscape tipping toward mobile devices, touchscreens and BYOD, Microsoft found itself without a strong foothold in the markets that will matter most in the future. It needed to establish a presence in the consumer-driven mobile space while both supporting traditional users and conditioning them for the new touch interface.
"It's a strategy of hope that people want to gravitate toward the new interface," said Johnson. Unfortunately for Microsoft, Johnson said, "initial signs are not positive." Redmond might not have been banking on organization sales, but it's likely the company hoped for better traction from consumers, whose initial enthusiasm for Home windows eight tablets appears to have been dampened by experience along with the out there options.
Forthcoming devices could still reverse this trend, of course. Microsoft could still win by focusing on tablet mindshare over business adoption rates. Nevertheless, if consumers are currently a much more meaningful barometer than companies, the progress hasn't been auspicious.
2013年1月4日星期五
Windows 8: Down but not out
Windows 8's been in the news again and not in a good way -- again.
Net Applications, the company that measures worldwide operating system penetration by watching 40,000 websites, distilling the results from 160,000 monthly unique visitors, and adjusting the numbers based on estimates of the number of computer users in each country, now estimates that 1.7 percent of the desktop/notebook/netbook computers accessing the Internet worldwide in December were using Windows 8. Of the Win8 users, per Net Applications, about 3 percent are using the touch interface -- or about 0.05 percent of all observed computers.
Windows 7's uptake -- using the same Net Applications measuring stick -- was around 21 percent at the same point in its lifetime, during December 2009. (Windows 8 hit general availability on Oct. 26, 2012; Windows 7 on Oct. 22, 2009.)
Of course, the world was different three years ago. Windows buyers were eager to try anything not named "Vista," Windows XP owned about 56 percent of the OS pie, the iPad wasn't even a gleam in Best Buy's eye, and the various Mac OS versions just barely topped 5 percent. Three years later, Mac OS versions run over 7 percent and XP still runs on 40 percent of all observed computers.
StatCounter, the other major horse in the OS counting race, tells a less "optimistic" tale, although its calculation methods are quite different: StatCounter counts hits on the pages it follows -- 15 billion hits per month -- and doesn't reduce them to unique PCs or adjust the numbers for geographical sampling anomalies. (It's worth noting that both Net Applications and StatCounter wildly underreport Asian markets, which have seen unprecedented growth.) While Windows 8 hasn't yet made enough of an impact to emerge from the "other" category, StatCounter puts Internet Explorer 10 use in the United States at just under 1 percent in December. Of course, IE10 is now available in beta for Windows 7, bugs and all, but it ships with Windows 8.
Over on the retail side, Bloomberg's Naoko Fujimura quotes Fujitsu president Masami Yamamoto as saying that demand for Windows 8 is "weak," with demand in Europe particularly poor. Fujitsu has concommitantly lowered Windows computer sales projections for the first quarter of 2013.
Just before Christmas, Emmanuel Fromont, president of Acer Americas, told the New York Times, "It's a slow start, there's no question."
I've been watching online sales of Surface RT tablets at Microsoft Stores in the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, and at Staples and Best Buy in the states, as well as Suning in China and Harvey Norman Australia. Not one of the online sites has ever shown an "out of stock" or "on order" notification.
A quick check of the major online ordering sites shows vast numbers of Windows 8-equipped notebooks for $500 or less, and many under $350. I don't see any listed as out of stock. Even the newer, touch-enabled designs are widely and immediately available, with a few sporadic exceptions.
So much for the doom and gloom -- here are the silver linings.
Michael Dell's keynote at the Dell World conference on Dec. 12 contained many glowing comments about Windows 8:
On a less cynical note, I have two reasons to think that Windows 8 may not turn out to be a complete crash-and-burn.
First, the fat lady hasn't yet sung. Surface with Windows 8 is due out in January. Although it may not take the world by storm, Surface Win8 has an easy act to follow. All signs I've seen point to Surface RT going the way of the dodo in short order. A full-on Windows 8 machine with the svelte Surface form factor may have a chance, particularly because netbooks are about to disappear. (According to Business Insider, both Asus and Acer have discontinued manufacturing netbooks, effective Dec. 31.)
Second, if the Net Applications figures represent anything close to reality, people accessing the Internet with Windows 8 machines are only using the touch interface 3 percent of the time. Clearly, Windows 8 customers aren't yet using the Mr. Hyde Metro side of the product. If Microsoft can come up with a compelling reason for everyday consumers to actually use Metro -- yes, that's a big "if" -- there's certainly a lot of room for increased sales. Coming up with an app that everybody wants is one whole heckuvalot easier than coming up with a new Windows, and it looks like very few people have even dipped their toes in the Metro gene pool.
Net Applications, the company that measures worldwide operating system penetration by watching 40,000 websites, distilling the results from 160,000 monthly unique visitors, and adjusting the numbers based on estimates of the number of computer users in each country, now estimates that 1.7 percent of the desktop/notebook/netbook computers accessing the Internet worldwide in December were using Windows 8. Of the Win8 users, per Net Applications, about 3 percent are using the touch interface -- or about 0.05 percent of all observed computers.
Windows 7's uptake -- using the same Net Applications measuring stick -- was around 21 percent at the same point in its lifetime, during December 2009. (Windows 8 hit general availability on Oct. 26, 2012; Windows 7 on Oct. 22, 2009.)
Of course, the world was different three years ago. Windows buyers were eager to try anything not named "Vista," Windows XP owned about 56 percent of the OS pie, the iPad wasn't even a gleam in Best Buy's eye, and the various Mac OS versions just barely topped 5 percent. Three years later, Mac OS versions run over 7 percent and XP still runs on 40 percent of all observed computers.
StatCounter, the other major horse in the OS counting race, tells a less "optimistic" tale, although its calculation methods are quite different: StatCounter counts hits on the pages it follows -- 15 billion hits per month -- and doesn't reduce them to unique PCs or adjust the numbers for geographical sampling anomalies. (It's worth noting that both Net Applications and StatCounter wildly underreport Asian markets, which have seen unprecedented growth.) While Windows 8 hasn't yet made enough of an impact to emerge from the "other" category, StatCounter puts Internet Explorer 10 use in the United States at just under 1 percent in December. Of course, IE10 is now available in beta for Windows 7, bugs and all, but it ships with Windows 8.
Over on the retail side, Bloomberg's Naoko Fujimura quotes Fujitsu president Masami Yamamoto as saying that demand for Windows 8 is "weak," with demand in Europe particularly poor. Fujitsu has concommitantly lowered Windows computer sales projections for the first quarter of 2013.
Just before Christmas, Emmanuel Fromont, president of Acer Americas, told the New York Times, "It's a slow start, there's no question."
I've been watching online sales of Surface RT tablets at Microsoft Stores in the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, and at Staples and Best Buy in the states, as well as Suning in China and Harvey Norman Australia. Not one of the online sites has ever shown an "out of stock" or "on order" notification.
A quick check of the major online ordering sites shows vast numbers of Windows 8-equipped notebooks for $500 or less, and many under $350. I don't see any listed as out of stock. Even the newer, touch-enabled designs are widely and immediately available, with a few sporadic exceptions.
So much for the doom and gloom -- here are the silver linings.
Michael Dell's keynote at the Dell World conference on Dec. 12 contained many glowing comments about Windows 8:
With Windows 8 we're on the cusp of the next revolution in hardware and software... [I]n the customer conversations that we've been having, the interest in Windows 8 is quite high, even with commercial customers, who would normally wait a few releases to adopt the new versions. What we're seeing here is really an immediate need, because CIOs are worried about the ramifications of a BYOD world.Of course, Dell is sitting on a whole lot of Windows 8 computers.
On a less cynical note, I have two reasons to think that Windows 8 may not turn out to be a complete crash-and-burn.
First, the fat lady hasn't yet sung. Surface with Windows 8 is due out in January. Although it may not take the world by storm, Surface Win8 has an easy act to follow. All signs I've seen point to Surface RT going the way of the dodo in short order. A full-on Windows 8 machine with the svelte Surface form factor may have a chance, particularly because netbooks are about to disappear. (According to Business Insider, both Asus and Acer have discontinued manufacturing netbooks, effective Dec. 31.)
Second, if the Net Applications figures represent anything close to reality, people accessing the Internet with Windows 8 machines are only using the touch interface 3 percent of the time. Clearly, Windows 8 customers aren't yet using the Mr. Hyde Metro side of the product. If Microsoft can come up with a compelling reason for everyday consumers to actually use Metro -- yes, that's a big "if" -- there's certainly a lot of room for increased sales. Coming up with an app that everybody wants is one whole heckuvalot easier than coming up with a new Windows, and it looks like very few people have even dipped their toes in the Metro gene pool.
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