Microsoft Testing Windows 8 on Existing Tablets

30Now 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.

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