How the Xbox, Surface Tablet Fit Into Microsoft’s Windows 8 Strategy
Microsoft’s known for its enterprise software, but with the cloud impacting the way we do business and pleasure, the Redmond company is shifting strategies around the consumer. The upcoming Windows 8 platform will appeal to your employee and consumer side, spanning work devices, home entertainment systems and everything in between.
Here to discuss how the Windows 8 strategy ties directly into the upcoming Xbox and Surface launches is SiliconAngle founding editor Mark “Rizzn” Hopkins, who appeared on the morning News Desk program this week (full video below).
Microsoft announced this morning that its upcoming Surface tablet has already sold out after only one day of pre-orders. The device has an initial price tag of $499 and aims to compete directly with Apple’s iPad, rather than the lower cost Android tablets that other manufactures have produced.
Hopkins elaborates. He notes that there will be several different accessories available for the Surface on launch, and more notable that users will have a choice between two separate editions of Windows 8.
Windows 8 RT was engineered with low-power mobile processors in mind – it’s an affordable option for users that may want to pay a premium just so they can run Office on their slate. Microsoft Pro on the other hand is a full-fledged PC operating system designed to run on the higher end Surface configurations. Mark stresses that each has a “different look and feel,” but they have several things in common.
Perhaps most importantly, Windows 8 is fully interoperable. This means apps that can run on a Wind8 desktop and a Surface tablet, a huge selling point for corporate customers.
Other major features of the upcoming Windows release include the tile-based user interface formally known as Metro (a name Microsoft pulled after a copyright dispute with one of its retail partners in Europe). It’s a touch screen-centric product that aims to cater to two different markets, and while criticism is inevitable, Hopkins thinks that the software maker will have no problems pulling it off.
Towards the end of the interview he also tackles the recent announcements around the Xbox. Microsoft is planning to roll out IE10 to the console sometime later this year; it also launched the Xbox Music steaming service a few days ago, and Smart Glass – which was first announced at this year’s E3 conference – is scheduled to release on the 26th.
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