Microsoft bares Windows RT 'PC'

Aside from calling it a "PC," there isn't much about Windows RT devices that resemble the laptop you're using today, as Microsoft spelled out today in its Building Windows 8 blog.

At the top the blog, Microsoft confirmed that Dell, Lenovo, and Samsung will be introducing Windows RT PCs running on top of ARM chips.

This follows the announcement by Asus of the Windows RT Tablet 600.

Here are some of the highlights of today's blog:

Windows RT is not just tablets: The point being that many devices will come with physical keyboards. "Some … Read more

To fight Apple-flight, Microsoft must hang tough on Surface

I just pray that Microsoft doesn't cave to pressure from partners to punt on Surface.

The first public plea came this week from Acer, which, in effect, begged Microsoft to drop Surface.

If that happens, Microsoft will lose the consumer to Apple for good. Probably sooner rather than later.

And if Acer is that worried about Surface, then it should out-design Microsoft or look elsewhere. Right now I don't see anything from Acer that would make me chuck my MacBook and iPad.

But Surface could. And it gets even more interesting when I see that Redmond is already working on Surface 2. … Read more

Nvidia touts ascendancy in Android, Windows 8 tablets

Nvidia's emergence as a leading player in both the Android and Windows 8 tablet markets was driven home today when the chip supplier's CEO discussed second-quarter results in an earnings conference call.

Revenue rose to $1.04 billion from $1.01 billion in the company's second quarter of last year. Analysts had forecast revenue of $1 billion.

Net income was $119 million, or 19 cents a share, below the $151.6 million, or 25 cents a share, recorded in the same period last year. But that exceeded analyst estimates of 14 cents a share on sales of $… Read more

Intel to chat up 'Haswell' chip at conference

With Intel's annual conference just around the corner, its next-gen silicon is always a hot topic.

And this year, that's Haswell. Why should you be interested in Haswell? Well, it's going to be inside some of the thinnest, lightest, most powerful ultrabooks, MacBooks, and tablet-ultrabook hybrids to date. (And throw Microsoft's next-gen Surface tablets into that mix too).

Haswell's marquee feature -- besides being a new microarchitecture -- is that versions of the processor will put more of the PC's core functions inside one chip package than any Intel processor to date. And that … Read more

iPad, MacBook torpedoing ultrabook sales, says analyst

Analysts are not kind to ultrabooks. Add Tim Bajarin to that long list.

Though the Creative Strategies president offers plenty of reasons for ultrabooks' woes, one of the more intriguing is that Apple products are boxing ultrabooks into a pricing dead zone.

The mid-range, between $799 and $899 -- where an increasing number of ultrabooks are priced -- "may be going away," Bajarin wrote in a recent post.

That's the upper end of the pricing range of Apple's very popular iPad. And above that, it's a MacBook market -- which Bajarin says consumers will pay … Read more

Former Intel executive joins Qualcomm: Led phone effort

The guy who headed up Intel's attempt to crack the phone market has landed at Qualcomm.

Anand Chandrasekher will join Qualcomm as its chief marketing officer, Qualcomm said today in a statement.

In his last job at Intel, Chandrasekher led an unsuccessful effort to get Intel's Atom processors into mobile phones.

Chandrasekher was replaced at Intel by Mike Bell (a former Apple executive) and Dave Whalen, who have landed Intel's Atom processors in phones from Lenovo, India's Lava, and a planned Motorola product, which is due this quarter.

Chandrasekher had become somewhat infamous for making regular … Read more

The next chapter in the ultrabook saga: 'Haswell'

Ultrabooks are currently limping along on Windows 7, but Windows 8 and "Haswell" should put some spring in their step.

While Windows 8 is obviously a hot topic, less is being said about Haswell, Intel's next chip design that will underwrite the third stage of ultrabooks.

That's because Intel hasn't been talking about Haswell, except on the QT in NDA sessions in Asia this week.

Haswell is probably the first mainstream PC-class chip from Intel designed with really thin, small PCs in mind from the get-go. It will also probably pack a mean graphics punch (… Read more

Steve Jobs: 7-inch tablets 'DOA' -- yeah, right

Steve Jobs' slander of the 7-inch tablet was, in effect, a nice bait-and-switch. One problem: rivals didn't take the bait.

Too much ink (yeah, me too) has been wasted on Job's proclamation against the viability of a 7-inch tablet (See Jobs' October 2010 comments below).

But that was hardly an absolute repudiation of a smaller tablet. Jobs' extemporaneous analysis of 7-inch tablets was merely a snapshot of what he was thinking on that day. Or maybe that month, at best -- as internal Apple e-mails now show.

Amazon, Samsung, and now Google have successfully ignored his sandpaper analogy (&… Read more

Intel invests in motion sensing: Looks to future interfaces

Intel Capital has invested in a company that provides motion-sensing technology, hinting at possible future user interfaces for personal computing devices.

Grenoble, France-based Movea said this week that it has secured 6.5 million euros (about $7.9 million) in funding from Intel Capital.

"We look forward to...increasing our involvement in the MEMS and motion sensing space in general," said Erik Jorgensen, investment director for Intel Capital, in a statement. "We believe the role MEMS plays in technology, particularly on the mobile side, is going to continue to increase at a rapid pace."

MEMS, or … Read more