New Windows Tablets: The Good, the Not-So-Bad, and the Ugly

A Lenovo Group Ideapad Yoga, a touchscreen clamshell computer that flips completely over on itself and can be used like a tablet, sits on display during the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las VegasPhotograph by Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

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By Kevin C. Tofel

August 16, 2012 at 2:44 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

In a few short months, consumers will have a new choice added to the tablets that run Apple’s iOS and Google Android: Microsoft Windows slates will arrive in time for the holiday season. These devices will markedly differ from prior attempts at Windows tablets, with a more touch-friendly interface and the use of smartphone chips to power the devices. As we have known since April, a special version of Windows 8 called Windows RT will power these slates, and Microsoft has now officially picked which companies will provide the hardware.

Asus (2357:TT), Samsung (005930:KS), Lenovo (992:HK), and Dell are the first four companies that will build and sell Windows RT tablets, although others are sure to follow in 2013. The first two choices make perfect sense, No. 3 less so (but is still understandable), and the Dell news doesn’t inspire me. Of the four partners, Dell has arguably experienced the least success is trying to crack the consumer market. Yes, we’re talking about Windows PCs with Windows 8, but in my mind the Windows RT tablets are more consumer electronics devices than traditional computers.