Ballmer: Windows 7 slates before the end of this year

By on Jul 12, 2010 at 10:16 AM
Hardware July 12, 2010

HP_Slate

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, giving the opening keynote at the Worldwide Partner Conference, told his audience to expect Windows 7 slate computers before the end of this year. “We know you really want to know what’s coming,” teased Ballmer. HP is one of several Dell partners who announced a slate-like PC earlier this year, although they did not announce when the new product would be available. Microsoft’s Chief went onto say, “They [the Slate PC's] will come from the people you would expect. From Asus, from Dell, from Samsung, from Toshiba, from Sony.” We say bring on the slates!

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  • Creamy Tuna Casserole

    *YAWN*

    Lemme know when it’s an Android tablet.

  • MikeD

    I am looking forward to this. I want to see if they have finally learned from their own mistakes. Or are they just going to continue to plow through their vision of a laptop slate without understanding the conditions on the ground.

    Good luck Microsoft. This could be exciting.

    • Donv69

      Me, too. I want to see something that Steve Ballmer has said actually come true and be successful.

  • tk-093

    ” HP is one of several Dell partners who announced a slate-like PC earlier this year,”

    Think you might want to fix this line.

  • Wireless Worker

    If this has USB ports and works like a regular PC then it will be ‘IPAD KILLER’!!!!!!!

    • doug

      hahaha…god that never gets old! keep’em coming!

    • gquaglia

      Yeah, right.

  • Gman

    love to to see a Mac one, (not that Ipad crap) But would like an android or PC if it has all the USB, and ports. Has to be stand alone, no need to connect to a computer like the Icrap.

    • JonHolstein

      yeah, i cant believe Apple put a mobile OS on their slate.
      well well.
      But Android is really pretty much the sam as iOS, not really ment as a productive tooll
      Personally I would go for Windows or MeeGo. Probably Windows, since it has all the software. Sure, it might not always be fingerfriendly, but im sure, we will see fingerfriendly software. And when you want to use it as a productive tool, you will be glad it gives you the full computer experience.

  • Goodman

    Because what the market really wants is $600-$800 Atom-powered Windows netbooks with crappy low-resolution screens and no keyboards and mice!

    As somebody who owns a Windows touchscreen netbook, I really don’t think this is going to fly. But Android’s prospects are good once they optimize the OS for tablets.

    • JonHolstein

      they are not all going to be that expensive.
      atom is getting better and better. and there might be some versions running ULV i3 coming up.

  • zblackrider

    Screw the ports, give me a couple of wireless dongles!

  • GeniusBoy

    I’ve got this email from Steve Ballmer slamming the tablet…maybe BGR will buy it from me for a few hundred…

  • Rich

    Oh boy…yet another visionary MS “me too” product. They’ve all gone so well in the past. Good luck with that Steve.

  • Carmen

    What do you mean by HP as a Dell partner? Don’t you mean a Microsoft partner?

  • gquaglia

    Windows slate running full version of Windows = FAIL
    Past M$ failures with tablets and the ipad has shown that a full version of a desktop OS is not what people want in a tablet. I was reading an article where many don’t expect Ballmer to make until next year. He has no vision and M$ is a shell of the company it once was, thanks to him.

  • http://www.helixzone.net helix2301

    Microsoft will defiantly put out a good tablet they know what people want and they will defiantly do a good job. But this is not really innovative. Apple was the one who took the risk putting out the Ipad. Microsoft is just going to not make the same mistakes that Apple made and use existing marketing knowledge. They are pretty much copying and remaking an existing product in the Microsoft image.

    • HEMI 922

      @Helix, oh really?

      This is not Microsoft’s first attempt at tablet computing – Windows XP Tablet PC edition was launched in 2001, with the device barely making an impact on the market. The technology was not fully developed and the tablets did not have a target market, making them an expensive anomaly among cheaper laptops and PDAs. MSFT tablet on market had failed already!

      Nvidia CEO Huang said”Windows is too big and it’s too full featured for smartbooks and tablets,”..He is right, that says “Hardware makers will unite behind Google’s Android as the primary operating system for tablet computers”..

      • JonHolstein

        actually on a smartbook you cant run windows at all, since one of the definitions of smartbooks is an arm-based CPU.
        So that has nothing to do with it, ts just word twisting.

        Windows is pretty “heavy”, but we have Atom, and ULV i3-processors today. And Ram is pretty cheap.
        So the world has changed from the XP tablet days.

        Android is a bad choice for tablets, since its not a full OS. It can never replace a laptop.
        Chrome is a browser based OS, and it will be pretty hard to constantly have the connection required for that to work. With wifi, it might be ok, but its not really a smart OS for computers on the go.

        MeeGo is today the only touchfocused full OS i know of. But since it does not have all programs that Windows have, I see a lot of people choosing windows.

  • Idaho Jones

    I thought MS was supposed to have an ‘inbetween’ OS optimized for slates/tablets/netbooks? The thing is, EVERYTHING is being called ‘Windows ____ Seven’.

    Not disagreeing, but just pointing out that its in the works and that it makes more sense that ‘Windows 7′ in this case refers to the new portable OS.

    Regardless, slates and tablets can eat a dick. Useless and pointless, but makes for nice toys. The toy I wanted, MS killed it, so whatever.

    • JonHolstein

      there is the windows embedded compact.on which WP7 is based.
      But that is not a full OS, you will not be able to run real windows apps.

      For those who want to replavce a laptop with a slate, Windows is pretty much the only choice you have. Sure, MeeGo will be out soon, but there will be a lot of programs missing for that, compared to Windows.
      And no, they are not poinless, they can be quite nice for replacing a laptop on the go.

  • http://www.learcapital.com/exactprice Hal (GT)

    What would make this golden, is if it were running a similar interface as the ZuneHD interface. I would love that.

  • iamajim

    too bad we won’t be seeing the Courier eh? curse you Microsoft for cancelling it!!

  • FunkyG

    Someone please tell me, if you already have a windows laptop / netbook, why would you want to buy a windows based tablet?

    Do you really think there are many people that want exactly the same thing, but with a touch screen and a worse user experience?

    If you’re intention is to replace your laptop / netbook, are you gonna purchase external Dvd Rom / Burners and external keyboards too? That would be ridiculous. You might as well just keep your laptop in the first place.

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