Now that the Developer Preview of Windows 8 is out on the streets everyone is working like mad to come up with a review of the new OS from Microsoft. Most of these reviews have been run inside virtualization programs like VMware’s Player, or Virtual Box, or… well you know the thing. However, the thing that I (and many others) would like to know about Windows 8 is; how does this work on its intended platform? We know from past conversations and statements with and from Microsoft that Windows8 was built to run on the increasingly popular tablet PC (and also ARM based tablets). Of course there are no certified Windows 8 tablets yet and our concern over trying Windows 8 out on a real tablet is having to completely reinstall our favorite Asus EP121 all over again if things go south. Thankfully Microsoft is already on the job. They have quite a few existing Windows 7 tablets in the lab right now and are testing the Windows 8 touch interface to make sure that It is running properly and also that it is not a pain to use. This was something that was left out of previous editions of Windows (going all the way back to Windows XP Tablet Edition). The touch interface was an after-thought and not something that was built into the OS from the ground up. This time Microsoft knew what the market layout would be and has developed Windows 8 more for the touch screen than the keyboard and mouse. They have a list of tablets that is quite impressive that they are currently testing all of which are currently on the market. We have reproduced the list from their Developing Windows 8 Blog below.
3M M2256PW
Dell ST2220Tc
HP TouchSmart_IQ526t
Acer Aspire 1420p (PDC)
Dell Studio 1747
Lenovo C320
Acer Aspire 1825PT
Dell Studio One
Lenovo S10-3T
Acer Aspire 5738PG
Dell SX2210T
Lenovo ThinkPad T410S
Acer Aspire Z5610
Elo 1522L
Lenovo ThinkPad X201T
Acer Iconia
EXOPC
Lenovo ThinkPad X220T
Acer T230H
Fujitsu Lifebook T4310
Lenovo ThinkPad_X60
Acer W500
HP Compaq L2105TM
NEC MultiSync LCD175M
ASUS EP 121
HP EliteBook 2740P
Planar PX2230MW
ASUS TCA70
HP Mini 5102
Samsung Series 7 XE700T1A
Dell Inspiron 2305
HP Pavilion_tx2000
Sony V J series
Dell Inspiron Duo
HP Pavillion DV3T-2000
Sony V L series
Dell Inspiron One 2305
HP Tablet 500
Sony VPCL113FX/B
Dell Latitude E6420
HP TouchSmart 610
Sony VPCL-218FW
Dell Latitude XT
HP TouchSmart IQ500
Toshiba Portege_M700
Dell ST2220T
HP TouchSmart TX2Z
Toshiba Sattellite Har/Kar
We are very tempted to back a backup image of our EEE Pad EP121 and load up the new preview just to see how it works. We will let you know if we get that brave. For now we will stay in the safety of VMware and will let you know our thoughts on this early preview soon.Discuss in our Forum