HTC said prepping 7-inch and 12-inch Windows RT tablets
updated 05:14 am EST, Fri December 21, 2012
HTC working on 7-inch and 12-inch Win RT devices
HTC is prepping two new Windows RT tablets, reports Bloomberg. One is said to be a 7-inch tablet that may also be able to make phone calls, while the other will be a larger 12-inch model. The two ARM-based devices are expected to debut sometime in 2013, with an unveiling of prototypes a possibility for CES 2013.
If the report were accurate, a 7-inch tablet Windows tablet from HTC would be the first of its kind with most Windows 8-based tablet devices ranging in size from 10- to 12-inches. How that would translate to real world use will be interesting to see, as the desktop mode in Windows RT would be scaled down considerably; however, the 7-inch tablet form factor, in general, has proven to be quiet popular. Phone call capabilities would also be attractive to business users in particular.
Helping to differentiate the HTC Windows RT tablets further will be the chips that power them. Currently shipping Windows RT tablets, including the Microsoft Surface have opted for NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 quad-core chipset, whereas HTC is said to be opting for silicon from Qualcomm. Exact specifications should become available in the near future.
Although OEM’s have had considerable advance warning about the launch of Microsoft’s Windows 8 and Windows RT, very few genuine iPad competitors have been released – HTC itself was rejected by Microsoft when it showed interest in being among the first round of manufacturers get on board the first round of Windows RT releases.
Further compounding Microsoft’s problems in building momentum with both Windows 8 tablets is news that Intel had shakedown issues with its ‘Clover Trail’ Atom chips with several vendors delaying their Atom-based device launches until the new year as a result. At year’s end, Microsoft is expected to hold just a 2.9 percent share of the tablet market, with the iPad and Android tablets controlling over 40 percent of the world-wide tablet market.
