The Windows Consumer Preview, the beta of Windows 8 on x86\/64, will be available for download by the end of February<\/b>. This next milestone of Windows 8 will be available in several languages and is open for anyone to download.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
says<\/a> Windows President Steven Sinofsky<\/p>\n The name of the preview suggests that Microsoft intends this release to be broadly downloaded and tried, in contrast to the developer preview with its more specialised role.<\/p>\n In preparation for the preview I looked around for a suitable tablet on which to test it \u2013 noting that it must be a Intel x86 or x64 tablet, since the ARM build (WOA) is not for general release, but only for manufacturers.<\/p>\n WOA will not be available as a software-only distribution, so you never have to worry about which DVD to install and if it will work on a particular PC.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Sinofsky writes.<\/p>\n So what is available? A quick Twitter consultation turned up a few options, such as the Acer Iconia Tab W500<\/a>, the Asus Eee slate B121<\/a>, and the Samsung Slate 7<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, of these only the Samsung is really suitable, because it has a 1366 x 768 display. The others have 1280 x 800, and while this will run Windows 8 and the new Metro user interface, it will not support the Snap feature which gives you two applications on screen together:<\/p>\n The resolution that supports all the features of Windows 8, including multitasking with snap is 1366×768. We chose this resolution as it can fit the width of a snapped app, which is 320px (also the width designed for many phone layouts), next to a main app at 1024×768 app (a common size designed for use on the web).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Yes, it\u2019s Sinofsky again<\/a>.<\/p>\n Unfortunately the Samsung Slate 7 is not fully released in the UK, though I did find it on offer at ebuyer.com<\/a>, for the not too unreasonable price of \u00a3973.19.<\/p>\n That is still expensive, and it is hard to see it becoming a mass-market bestseller as Windows 8 fans rush to try out the new OS.<\/p>\n The consequence is that most users will try Windows 8 Consumer Preview on a virtual machine, or on an ordinary PC or laptop, or possibly on one of the cheaper 1280 x 800 tablets.<\/p>\n Since Microsoft\u2019s main focus with Windows 8 has been on the new Metro touch user interface, this will not show the new operating system at its best.<\/p>\n I can personally testify to this. The Samsung slate handed out at the BUILD conference last September, which I had on loan for a few days, was delightful to use, whereas Windows 8 Developer Preview (the same build) is nothing special in a virtual machine.<\/p>\n All will be well, one assumes, when Windows 8 launches with both ARM and Intel-based machines available. Nevertheless, it seems to me a significant obstacle as Microsoft tries to build pre-launch enthusiasm; the risk is that users will not take into account how much better it is on a real tablet.<\/p>\n Update: a few other options have been suggested, like the Dell Inspiron Duo<\/a>, a convertible 10.1\u201d tablet with an Intel Atom N570 Dual Core, 1366 x 768 display and 2GB RAM, and around one third of the cost of a Slate 7, but perhaps under-powered to show off the best of Windows 8.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Microsoft will deliver Windows 8 Consumer Preview shortly, probably on February 29th, since it has been promised by the end of this month and there is a launch event at Mobile World Congress. The Windows Consumer Preview, the beta of Windows 8 on x86\/64, will be available for download by the end of February. This … Continue reading Where are the tablets for Windows 8 Consumer Preview?<\/span> \n
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![\"Samsung](\"http:\/\/image.ebuyer.com\/UK\/w0288237_newpage.jpg\")
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