Lenovo Halts Sales of Small-Screen Windows 8.1 Tablets Due To "Lack of Interest" 125
DroidJason1 writes Microsoft has attempted to compete in the small-screen tablet market with Windows 8.1 and Windows RT, but it looks like the growing adoption of small-screen Android tablets are just too much for Lenovo to handle. Lenovo has slammed the brakes on sales of small screen Windows tablets in the United States, citing a lack of interest from consumers. In fact, Lenovo has stopped selling the 8-inch ThinkPad 8 and the 8-inch Miix 2. Fortunately, these small-screen Windows tablets have seen some success in Brazil, China, and Japan, so Lenovo will focus on efforts there. Microsoft also recently scrapped plans for the rumored Surface Mini.
Same here (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Same here (Score:5, Insightful)
The thing that bothers me the most about Windows 8 is that Microsoft didn't include the Metro UI because they thought it was better than the old UI.
Everyone can point at an OS which changed its UI in a way they don't like. The thing is, those changes usually happen because the developers genuinely believe that the new UI is better than the old one. Sometimes the developers are right, sometimes they're not. They might make a mistake, but they're trying to improve their product.
Windows 8's Metro UI, on the other hand, isn't there because anyone at Microsoft thought Windows 8 users would like it. That's what bugs me. It's there to build familiarity with that UI, in the hopes that people will go out and buy Windows phones. That's why you can't just turn it off - Microsoft management wants Metro in your face so you'll then go and buy a phone or tablet with that familiar UI that you already know how to use.
It's about using dominance over one market to elbow their way into a different market.
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And to guarantee everyone will want to upgrade to Windows 9. Planned obsolescence never looked so clever.
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That would be diabolical - like people who claim that "New Coke" was just marketing. They can sell Win 7 and Win 8 at the same time, get a bunch of pent up demand for 9, and then release something usable to rave reviews and have a blockbuster quarter. :)
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How do you know that Metro is there to get people to familiarize themselves with the UI so they can buy Windows phones? Unless I see a leaked memo or something, to me it makes more sense to assume (not saying I know) that MS wanted to create their own approach to touch screens that can coexist with a full-blown OS, so they can offer hybrid devices -- touch-only in one situations, full-blown laptop in another -- and make money from the market segment that thinks hybrid is the way to go.
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Do you think the post you two replied to was made by someone rather than triggered by cosmic rays and solar flares ? Probably common sense? Same common sense helps people know the real reason for metro UI.
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I bought a Windows 8 laptop, pulled the HDD, tossed it back in the box, pugged in an SSD, and installed Mint.
I converted it to PC-BSD (Score:2)
I halted buying of Windows 8x machines through lack of interest as well. That and disgust at how diabolical the UI is.
I bought a Windows 8 laptop as well - a rather large Dell Inspiron 17. One w/ a Core i7, 8GB of RAM, 1TB of hard disk. Installed Classic shell & tried it out. Problem was that even when I went into the desktop and was working on an application there, the Charms bar would just pop out of nowhere. Also, despite being the latest & greatest, from the Metro screen, there was no way of starting multiple desktops, each w/ 1-2 apps, so that I could avoid clutter. Oh, and also, the trackpad was getting
Not usable (Score:1)
No way to touch the little boxes on the desktop so no way to use one of those with a typical made-for-desktop+mouse program. Dell has an 8 with a stylus. It should COME with a stylus. Period. It only then could be used. But these are on-the-cheap and Dell can make a nice profit on upselling you a stylus ($1 to make and $40 to buy).
Re: Not usable (Score:4, Insightful)
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This has nothing to do with RT so I don't know what point you're trying to make. The devices referenced run Windows 8.1.
Atom = worthless (Score:5, Interesting)
The reason why I don't have one is because of the processor. I'm still clinging to my 5 year old x200T despite the fact that it runs hot, is heavy, and has a 35w TDP processor (more than modern mobile GPU/CPU/APUs use combined) because when push comes to shove, content creation on an atom processor is a joke.
They could have been the cheap alternative to a cintaq, or the road-warrior-note-taker's dream, but I wouldn't try to run any scripts or plugins. I wonder if it'll even run the latest version of onenote smoothly. (not that you would want to use the current version's tragedy of an interface)
That's not even getting into the fact that windows 8 officially dropped digitizer/pen support (I tried to find the press release to this, but I think they pulled it when they announced the surface, this is the best I could find) microsoft.com [microsoft.com]
A gimped device, with half-assed pen support, of course they don't sell.
Chromebook = Scroogled (Score:2)
These tablets are trying to get into the same market that netbooks once occupied. We all know what happened to those...
Yeah, they were gone in 2013, but in 2014, Microsoft's OEM partners brought them back when it wanted to paint Chromebook users as having been Scroogled [microsoft.com].
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Dammit Microsoft, you had something nearly perfect with the Surface Pro 2 and then wrecked it.
Mod +5 Funny
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Based on history a slashdotter not liking it is proof enough that it is good. Seriously you guys bag out pretty much everything and claim to be tech heads but when Microsoft takes your precious Start Menu away it's like the sky is falling!
Well, there is the matter of today's internet. Anything that is posted pisses someone off. Mention Global warming, or gay marriage, or gun control, or Guvmint intrusion, or Tesla's and those folks will descend on you like carrion flies.
That being said, I used W8 for a year, and it elevates Suck to a new level. The Start menu? Meh, that's just one itty bitty step into that cesspool of suck.
W8 Works. It really does. But as a UI, and for system maintenance the verdict is in - Do Not Want. And the fanbois
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Correct. We have several Lenovo ThinkPad 2 tablets running Win8.1 and the input panel is right on the taskbar. These came with Wacom touch/pen digitizer screens. My only complaint is that the digitizer needs recalibration every so often.
The newer dual-core atoms are no power house but I wouldn't say they are useless. Stuff like OneNote works great. Basic stuff in GIMP it does ok with. Haven't tried Photoshop. It runs Office quite nicely. For a cheap business tablet with good battery life they do the
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Yeah, if they'd implement the Ink->Text functionality in the Metro version, it would suck a lot less. That's my only real gripe with it.
Apple Newton-style drawing touch-up would be nice too.... like turning crappy circles into nice ones, etc. I miss my Newton :-( It spanked OneNote in terms of functionality.
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Atom = worthless (Score:1)
I have to disagree about the Atom part, at least. I (briefly) had a Win8.1 tablet from Asus that had one of the later (but not the latest) Atom processors. It ran surprisingly well. I wouldn't have tried any video production on it, but for running Office-like software and games of Hearthstone it did fine. Also surprising: the Metro interface (which I thought I'd like on a tablet although I avoid it like the plague on a desktop) was okay at best. Still, I was getting used to it.
The only reason I sent it
Why and how is it "fortunate"? (Score:5, Funny)
That those less usable tablets have had "some success in Brazil, China, and Japan"? Do you hate the Brazilians, the Chinese, the Japanese?
Re:Why and how is it "fortunate"? (Score:5, Funny)
That those less usable tablets have had "some success in Brazil, China, and Japan"? Do you hate the Brazilians, the Chinese, the Japanese?
Studies have shown that these three countries have a high number of tables with uneven legs.
Re: Why and how is it "fortunate"? (Score:5, Funny)
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Why should Lenovo support their main competitor? (Score:5, Insightful)
With Surface, it seems Microsoft is a bigger threat to Lenovo than Dell, HP, IBM, etc.
With that in mind, I can't imagine why they'd support any Windows platforms.
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Re:Why should Lenovo support their main competitor (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm waiting for the Surface thing to fade away. I'm surprised it sticks around at all; it's about time for an HP TouchPad-style fire sale. *stares at watch*
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i agree about the keyboard and trackpad.
apple keyboards are horrid, and all trackpads suck so it doesnt matter.
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I'm typing this on an Asus Vivobook S200E ultraportable (i3-3217U, 4GB, 11.6", aluminum chassis, USB 3.0, $430 new + $80 more for a nice SATA-III SSD to upgrade with; basically what I call a "better MacBook Air than a MacBook Air")
I only took a quick glance, but it looks like the MacBook Air is half the weight, has a better CPU, better graphics, more USB 3.0 ports, much better battery life, lots of useful built-in apps, etc.
Exactly how did you compute that your Asus Vivobook S200E "ultraportable" is a "better MacBook Air than a MacBook Air"?
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How is my S200E better than a mid-2013 Macbook Air?
Price: $510 ($430 for the S200E + $80 for a 120GB SSD) vs. $899 = I paid $389 less. I can buy another S200E base unit for that price today.
Physical attributes: S200E is thicker and heavier
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This truly is a better MacBook Air than a MacBook Air.
But you just outlined how a MacBook Air doesn't suit your needs, so for that reason you went with something different that explicitly is not a MacBook Air because a MacBook Air is by definition not what you want. Doesn't your statement apply equally to pretty much every single product that isn't an S200E? Unless of course you understood the MacBook Air to be something other than what it actually is.
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Because of your statements, I must ask you: what is a MacBook Air?
This [apple.com] is a MacBook Air.
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Re: Why should Lenovo support their main competito (Score:1)
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Re:Why should Lenovo support their main competitor (Score:5, Interesting)
Yeah, I'm actually kind of surprised that companies like Lenovo, Dell, and HP haven't made any kind of overt move toward doing what Apple does-- taking a FOSS OS and building their own distro/OS off of it, customized to their marketing needs. If I were running one of these companies, the announcement of the Surface would have been a real shot-across-the-bow that would have me rethinking my whole relationship with Microsoft.
Luckily the Surface was kind of a flop too. If it were not a flop, though, I would expect Microsoft to eventually move toward making laptop/desktop models, as they saw a marketing opportunity, and maybe network/server hardware. With Microsoft producing the Surface and buying Nokia, also selling the XBox, it's looking increasingly like Microsoft wants to go the Apple route of selling integrated hardware/software solutions instead of selling a commodity OS to run on other vendors' hardware.
A couple years ago, I actually predicted that we'd see something like a Dell/Microsoft merger within 10 years, which would then have a vertical market containing everything that businesses need for computing. Between those two companies, you have phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, switches, routers, servers, and the software to run it all. We've seen no movement toward that, and I personally think it's a bad idea, but I think that's where Microsoft wants to go.
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Easy. Because they all still have big businesses selling Windows desktops and laptops - and don't dare piss Microsoft off too much. That plus the fact that Linux lacks 3rd party app support - but so does the Mac to some extent. Essentially, though, there's not a big enough market for such a thing - certainly not big enough to invest in the capability to offer phone support. Between Windows desktops/laptops, Macs, iPhones/iPads, Android phones and tablets and Chromebooks, there's a lot of competition out
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Because they all still have big businesses selling Windows desktops and laptops - and don't dare piss Microsoft off too much.
Yeah, that's kind of my point. They've spent decades being Microsoft's bitch, afraid to piss Microsoft off. And then finally Microsoft starts competing with them directly? If I were in their shoes, I'd be looking for some kind of leverage to balance the power out again. I'd grab Shuttleworth and some of the CEOs of my competitors, saying, "we need to collaborate on a viable alternative before we're totally fucked."
Especially as FOSS has grown and more applications have been pushed to the web, the 3rd p
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Especially as FOSS has grown and more applications have been pushed to the web, the 3rd party app lock-in isn't what it once was.
But that's why people care less and less about what operating system they run, it doesn't matter that much anymore, just look at the surge in Chromebook popularity. The other thing is the FOSS apps are - by their nature - portable to closed proprietary platforms like OS X and Windows meaning if vendors did make a move to a free operating system and an investment in FOSS programs then they're just shutting out their customers from the proprietary software vendors. People don't buy a computer and then go "ok
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sure you could have yet another Linux distribution but what would that achieve?
Just to have something pre-installed on the computer that the manufacturer has enough control over to make sure there are drivers for whatever hardware is attached. You're right that people care less and less about the OS itself, but there still needs to be an OS.
And again, it doesn't make a hell of a lot of sense to say, "Suggesting that people use Linux is dumb. They can just use Android or buy a Chromebook!" That's still Linux. If I want all the functionality of Chrome OS and a couple other more con
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If I want all the functionality of Chrome OS and a couple other more conventional applications (e.g. GIMP, LibreOffice), then it makes more sense to just install something more like Ubuntu.
I guess I'm thinking that there aren't many people like that, they either want to run their specific OS X or Windows applications or - as you said - the applications they need have been pushed to the web like Google Docs/Office365 and Pixlr Editor.
And again, it doesn't make a hell of a lot of sense to say, "Suggesting that people use Linux is dumb. They can just use Android or buy a Chromebook!" That's still Linux. If I want all the functionality of Chrome OS and a couple other more conventional applications (e.g. GIMP, LibreOffice), then it makes more sense to just install something more like Ubuntu.
Yeah that's why I didn't say that. We've had decades of being able to install other linux distros but ultimately there is no compelling reason to do so for the general populace because even when Windows changes Linux distros are still an unfamiliar environment but
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We've had decades of being able to install other linux distros but ultimately there is no compelling reason to do so for the general populace because even when Windows changes Linux distros are still an unfamiliar environment but they don't run all your programs...
Which is a problem that isn't at all solved by using ChromeOS or Android.
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I don't know why you have this weird agenda of insisting that any Linux on the desktop (that isn't ChromeOS) needs to remain a niche. You yourself cited FOSS desktop applications as something that people use, and that it doesn't matter what OS they use. It seems like either you're emotionally invested in being anti-Linux or you're just being difficult for the sake of it.
You have GIMP, LibreOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird, Pidgin, Skype, Dropbox, VLC, Spotify, and an ever-increasing number of games offered t
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I don't know why you have this weird agenda of insisting that any Linux on the desktop (that isn't ChromeOS) needs to remain a niche.
It doesn't have to remain niche, but people won't change just for the sake of it, it needs to give people a reason to change.
You yourself cited FOSS desktop applications as something that people use, and that it doesn't matter what OS they use.
Right, but why would somebody switch from the incumbent operating systems?
It seems like either you're emotionally invested in being anti-Linux or you're just being difficult for the sake of it.
No, I'm not anti-Linux at all, you seem to not understand that you supplant an incumbent by differentiating in some way that consumers are going to say "wow that's so much better than what I have now". For example the iPhone vs Blackberry or the iPad vs the old Windows tablets. I'm a realist, I can see that that
Linux support (Score:2)
>> That plus the fact that Linux lacks 3rd party app support
No.
3rd party apps lack linux support.
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Was it worth it? (Score:3)
It seems that adding Metro UI to Windows 8 has resulted in their tablets and phones going from 1% to 2%. Was the whole exercise worth it?
Re:Was it worth it? (Score:4, Funny)
Or, was half the remaining Blackberry customer base simply tricked into buying something else that sucks?
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But I guess that line is only said by people with small screens.
A tale of 2 Windows (Score:2)
I don't quite get you. I've used Windows 8 in 2 environments - a Lumia and the laptop that I described above. In fact, I used the phone first. The experience of the 2 was totally different.
I had a Lumia 520, which I loved. OneNote alone demonstrated to me how handy that phone was - I could make shopping lists that I never forgot, or travel plans. Nokia's HERE was perfect for finding places. Above all, the typing experience on a Lumia was superior to both that of an iPhone as well as an Android.
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Yeah, because some web site posted vague information about a rumored product ban by unspecific intelligence agencies for the possibility of a rumored back door, with no information whatsoever.
Probably not.
To be fair... (Score:3)
The closest thing to concrete data about that whole situation could accurately describe:
-Agency plugs in lenovo laptop with preload intact
-Agency notes that a TCP SYN packet was sent to China, but not allowed to actually get there.
-Agency says 'screw it' and bans it without further analysis
This could be nefarious or it could be checking for firmware or driver updates. There's no way to guess what really happened without details of any investigation coming to light.
Keep in mind that it was likely an activit
Does it run Linux? (Score:1)
How well do they run Linux and when will they be selling them at 80% off?
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Jusy like phones, right?
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It's not a computer, it's a "tablet". They are locked down in hardware to only run the OS they shipped it with.
Wrong.
For a Surface Pro 3:
http://www.geek.com/microsoft/... [geek.com]
For other tablets
http://www.techradar.com/us/ne... [techradar.com]
I've already installed Linux Mint on my wife's W8 Touch screen laptop. She just stopped using it under W8.1 because the experience was so awful. Under Mint, she's happy. But I digress.
There's just a few things you have to change. If you want a dual boot, there is a little more to do, because when you enable the device to see another OS, it won't see W8. In my case, it didn't matter, beca
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I have a Miix 2 11.6" (Score:3)
I think some of the smaller Miix and similar devices are less useful for some clear reasons:
I think Windows tablet / hybrids or 10, 11 or 12 sizes are far more viable, particularly for people who have to actually do work on the go but appreciate being able to flip their sideways and use them as a tablet for some mindless browsing or whatever.
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I don't think Windows would dethrone either iOS or Android by copying them. People are not gonna buy Microsoft just b'cos they're like Android.
Microsoft had a unique selling point that they could offer a tablet that could potentially run the vast legacy of Windows apps to date. So let's say someone bought something like a Visio, or a Acrobat that they would have liked to have been able to use w/ their tablet, either the same way (w/ an attached or wireless keyboard) or an enhanced tablet experience
It's because (Score:2, Informative)
And I've seen the sneak shots for Windows 9. The Start button is back bitches!
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So what? It's Microsoft, people will whine and cry about it then bend over for another screwing when Windows 9 or whatever comes next.
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Isn't Lenovo a Chinese company?
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But it is headquartered in America, has factories in America, and is run like a real independent stock company. Not giving it a complete pass but let us try to put things in perspective.
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If we use a broad defention of "elements of communist china's government" you get 1/3. 60% of the stock is firmly in the public market.
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And they are offering these at low prices -- in the developing world -- because nobody in the western world wants this Windows 8 crap.
Charging, screen, connectivity and battery issues (Score:1)
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Not to mention it's $200 more expensive than the Dell Venue 8 Pro, it's not a Surface competitor so it needs to be targeted at the price range of the Venue and the 7-8" Android tablets, not at the ipad mini.
Sorry to hear - I have a Miix 2 and love it. (Score:2)
My company's VPN was incompatible with Android and I didn't want to spend much on a piece of gear for work, so I picked up the Lenovo Miix 2 for about $200 this year. Paired with a bluetooth keyboard, it's been an awesome companion - I gave up my bulky company laptop months ago and haven't looked back. (My primary workstation is the typical multi-monitor dev monster; I just remote in to that from the Miix.)
Win8 tablets suck (Score:4, Interesting)
Speaking from personal experience in a smallish IT shop, non-RT Windows 8 tablets suck. Mainly this is because Microsoft hasn't figured out how to make updates really easy like on Android and iOS - it's basically the same updating experience as on a Win8 desktop, so every Patch Tuesday you've got several individual patches to download and install. Contrast this to how Android and iOS do it: downloading and installing one big update in the background and then prompting the user to reboot.
The problem is that our users don't install the updates. For example, I have three with Win8 tablets (only 3, thank $DEITY) purchased about a year ago. To modernize them, I had to download and install about 130 updates, reboot, go to the Store and tell it to install the upgrade to 8.1, reboot, install another 36 updates, reboot, and then upgrade a few desktop-type programs individually, reboot, and then I'm finally done. Yes, these tablets are on Active Directory, and no, I don't know why they're not getting updates from our WSUS server; my guess is that the tablets are used just a few hours a month for several minutes at a time. Anyway, the point is that keeping Windows 8 updated on a tablet is far more tedious and annoying than on a proper tablet OS.
Developers, Developers, Developers! (Score:2)
The biggest problem with Windows 8.1 tablets is the total lack of decent apps. Not "applications", which they have plenty of, but "apps" that make content consumption easier.
I've got a Surface Pro 2. It's a pretty good ultrabook, even if the keyboard is a bit flimsy for that application, but it's a complete failure as a tablet. For casual browsing on the couch, it's miserable. There are no decent apps, and the desktop versions of most applications don't appreciate being occasionally resized for a keyboa
8" is a bad form factor that's why (Score:1)
It's neither fish nor fowl. It's too small to use for more than 5 minutes and it's too big to be easily portable unless you're a woman with a handbag. The only plausible good use to put to an 8" tablet is an industry or business specific app designed for a single purpose. Think, ticket sales, restaurant management, TSA security checks, mobile cash register, that sort of thing. Where the app is designed to one thing.
Bummer (Score:2)
They should send them to the cast of 'under the dome', that's the only place where you see people using them.
Never watched it (Score:2)
Do the dome people have internet? What is allowed through, under the dome, and what isnt?
Fortunately..? (Score:1)
Lack of interest? Lack of availability, I'd say! (Score:2)
I was looking forward to buy the Lenovo Miix 2 8" with 64 GB and WWAN.
But Lenovo decided that people in my market (Germany) don't need it.
So I bought a Dell Venue 8 Pro 64GB/WWAN.
To those who say that the modern UI sucks: On laptops and desktops, I absolutely agree with you. But on a device with real touch support it works, if you're willing to give it a chance. It doesn't work if you immediately start installing desktop apps.
To those that say 8" is a bad size: I disagree. In my opinion, a 10" or 11" tablet
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Win 8 tablets as shims (Score:2)
MS and Lenovo are missing the uses-cases (Score:2)
From what I have gathered when talking with people the big point of getting a x86 tablet is to be able to connect peripherals and devices when you need them but avoid the space when you don't.
Some people I know prefer to use better external small keyboards and don't want to lug around on a laptop keyboard they don't use. The "keyboard covers" that have been offered are worse than most laptop keyboards.
People also want to connect devices such as their DSLR camera for doing some light image editing on the go,
Change of plans (Score:2)
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1. If westerners aren't buying this Windows 8 crap, then why are they sending it to us?
2. If westerners are using non-Windows tablets, then we should be too (but perhaps just a bit delayed)
Yes, it's hammer time. For Microsoft. And it's about time.