Microsoft lays out Window 8 tablet hardware requirements

 

Microsoft has issued a set of guidelines for hardware certification on Windows 8 tablets a policy it applies to all new operating systems.  

While there aren't a lot of surprises (see charts below), Microsoft does specifically address a"convertible" design, which is expected to become popular on both Intel- and ARM-based devices.       

Convertible:"A convertible form factor is defined as a standalone device that combines the PC, display and rechargeable power source with a mechanically attached keyboard and pointing device in a single chassis. A convertible can be transformed into a tablet where the attached input devices are hidden or removed leaving the display as the only input mechanism," according to the Microsoft documentation.

Hardware buttons:Must have five hardware buttons. They are power, rotation lock, Windows Key, volume up, volume down. 

  

Broadband:And many of those designs will have built-in broadband. "If a mobile broadband device is integrated into a tablet or convertible system, then an assisted GPS radio is required," Microsoft stipulates.

 

Display:Will have to be at least 1366x768 resolution. "The minimum native resolution/color depth is 1366x768 at a depth of 32bits. The physical dimensions of the display panel must match the aspect ratio the native resolution. The native resolution of the panel can be greater than 1366 (horizontally) and 768 (vertically)." 

  

NFC:A visual mark is required for near field communications. "To help users locate and use the proximity technology, the use of a visual mark is required," according to Microsoft. 

  

Alternative to Ctrl-Alt-Delete:The new option is to press Windows Key + Power. "For Windows 8, the SAS (Secure Attention Sequence) signal will be sent when the combination of the Windows Key button and the Power Button is pressed."

Other Windows 8 tablet/convertible minimum hardware guidelines include: 

• Storage: At least 10gb free space "after the out-of-box experience completes"
• Graphics: Direct3D 10 device w/ WDDM 1.2 driver
• Display resolution: 1366x768 
• Camera: 720p 
• Accelerometer et al: plus magnetometer and gyroscope 
• USB: USB 2.0 
• Networking: WLAN and Bluetooth 4.0 + LE (low energy) 
• System firmware: UEFI

Mahler marimba man: The iPhone has an alarm?

He is a regular concertgoer. He was seated in the front row. Unfortunately, though, his company had--for reasons unknown--taken back his corporate BlackBerry and given him an iPhone instead.

This was its first day in the gentleman's possession. This was its first time at a concert.

And the gentleman explained that he wasn't quite au fait with all of its joys. He was sure he had switched his phone off. There was a gap, though, in his phone knowledge.

"I didn't know phones came with alarms," he explained to the Times.

Some will scoff louder than metal fans at the opera. Some will utter diatribes of disbelief. How could this gentleman not see the little bell at the top of his screen that told him an alarm had been set?

How could his wife have only discovered this for him on the way home?

But, you see, not everyone gets a new phone and prods and presses until it's an extension of their right arm.

Some people are just grateful they have a phone that does wonderful things: like get e-mail.

Perhaps, though, if his phone is an iPhone 4S, he will familiarize himself with Siri. She will help him. She will save him. Always.

   

Intel's new chip for phones is surprising in many respects, but the biggest shocker is speed.

    The "Medfield" Atom Z2460 chip for smartphones, announced at CES, handily beats some of the fastest phones on the market, review site Anandtech said in this post.Is this fast enough to be smartphone-market disruptive? Will battery life measure up? Only Lenovo and Motorola know for sure (Anandtech thinks Medfield will be fine on battery life). One thing is for certain, though: neither of those companies are signing up for Medfield out of pity, as Anand Shimpi points out.
   And another shocker the results that Anandtech cites are not that different from a bar-graph slide (below) that CEO Paul Otellini showed at a Credit Suisse Annual Technology Conference back in November. (I should add that I had somebody whispering in my ear before CES to take those benchmarks seriously. Alas, I didn't.)
If the results hold up for the upcoming Lenovo K800 smartphone (and Motorola's unannounced phones), Intel-based phones should offer stalwarts like the iPhone 4S and Samsung's Galaxy Nexus some headline-grabbing competition.
    "Although running what appears to be a stock Gingerbread browser, Intel's Medfield reference platform posts SunSpider performance better than any other smartphone we've tested--including the Galaxy Nexus running Ice Cream Sandwich," said Anandtech. And those results should be maintained for Atom on Ice Cream Sandwich.
     Oh, and it beats the iPhone 4S too in that benchmark.

 



LAS VEGAS-CNET's team of crack technology editors argued long into the Vegas afternoon yesterday, painstakingly honing hundreds of cumulative man- and woman-hours of CES 2012 coverage into 10 category winners and, finally, one product sharp enough to earn Best in Show: the LG 55EM9600.

 It's a TV. And its organic light-emitting diode display technology is the future of flat-panel tech. OLED promises better picture quality than either plasma or LCD/LED--thanks to effectively infinite contrast (for realzies this time!), wide viewing angles and lightning-fast response times--combined with an unbelievable form factor. The winning LG measures just 4mm in depth, "three credit cards thick" as LG's Tim Alessi cooed accepting the award, and boasts a bezel around the screen just 1mm wide. It's basically all gorgeous picture