Microsoft Windows 8 soft and hard upgrade Wintel Alliance battle tablet

Apple took the lead in breaking through, Android formed an alliance, and Microsoft finally made a move. Who can laugh at the end? The tablet market will undoubtedly stage a good show of the top three hegemony.

Gartner data shows that in the tablet market, Apple iOS will control 61% of the market this year, Google's Android platform share will reach 32%, as a latecomer to this market, Microsoft with the upcoming Windows8 platform, This year will receive a 4% market share.

Insiders told the Daily Economic News that the two giants of the Wintel Alliance (Windows Plus Intel) will once again capture the market with an overwhelming advantage in the technology field and redefine the operation of the tablet. Mode, this move may cause a devastating blow to the Android camp.

Some manufacturers switch to Windows8 embrace

At present, Google's Android and Arm-based chip group army plays the role of Wintel in the PC era, and Qualcomm and Samsung (microblogging) become important foods. Profitable; Apple took advantage of the innovative and fashionable product features to capture the consumer market and bring the entertainment performance of mobile terminals to the fullest.

However, due to the closed nature of Apple's iOS system, Android has become the only choice for other manufacturers. Currently, this group includes traditional PC manufacturers Lenovo, Acer, Samsung, HTC, and Huawei (microblogging). ), ZTE and many other mobile phone manufacturers. Microsoft, Intel and Nokia have become alliances, waiting for the maturity of Windows Phone and Windows 8 systems to wait for a comeback.

According to official sources, Microsoft will officially release the Windows 8 system this year. It will have 3 different versions and support different platforms. Traditional Windows 8 and Windows Pro (Professional Edition) are run under the x86 architecture, while Windows RT is built specifically for tablets and PCs with ARM architecture processors (mobile, more convenient). This means that the future of Windows8 will adopt a dual architecture, supporting both traditional computer use and mobile touch screen devices.

In this regard, Apple CEO Tim · Cook said that he is not optimistic about the cross-border use strategy of Windows8. Cook said: "Everything can be forced into one. However, if this is the case, the performance of the product will be greatly reduced, and such products will ultimately not satisfy the user. However, fission is happening, and some PC and smartphone manufacturers have begun to try to “put eggs in different baskets”, and developers have turned to WindowsPhone and Windows8.

Hardware upgrades

Recently, Intel China Chairman Ma Hongsheng made his debut publicly. He revealed that at least 10 OEMs are designing tablets based on Intel and Windows 8 operating systems.

Huang Yanlin, general manager of Shenzhen Fengyang High-Tech Co., told the reporter of "Daily Economic News" that some of the solution companies are currently developing Windows 8 solutions based on Intel IvyBridge processor.

 The future Windows 8 computer may be a traditional desktop, laptop, or a separate tablet, or a flip-top detachable, push-top, product form is very rich, it will greatly promote The practicality and commerciality of mobile terminals. & rdquo; Huang Yulin said.

According to Microsoft's definition, the minimum configuration of Windows 8 computer is: 1.2GHz 64-bit dual-core processor, 1GDDR2 generation memory, support integrated graphics 128MB, and at least 20GB of effective hard disk space, support 16-bit 41000Hz sound card. Intel estimates that Windows 8 computers will have about 9 hours of battery life, weigh less than 1.5 pounds (similar to the iPad), and have a thickness of 9mm.

In this regard, Huang Yulin said that because Windows8 system has very high requirements for graphics acceleration, most PC manufacturers are difficult to quickly leap from the old framework. It is expected that only Samsung, Acer, Dell, and HP will be available at the end of the year. Bo), a few Sony manufacturers will launch new products. He also revealed that due to higher manufacturing costs, the price of Windows8 tablets will reach 5,000 to 6,000 yuan.

& ldquo; Microsoft's definition of Windows8 tablet is that its screen will achieve 5-point touch, split screen and multi-screen display, which means that it can support multiple people at the same time touch operation. & rdquo; Huang Yulin said.

He further explained that Intel processors have been criticized by the industry for their high power consumption and high power consumption in the confrontation with ARM. Therefore, the mobile market is slow, and the important reason is that There are differences in the definition of the product between the two.

 In fact, with Intel repositioning the product, performance on the same power processor has reached 30 to 50 times that of ARM. & rdquo; Huang Yulin said.

Opening the door to developers

Compared with Apple and Android, the most interesting thing about Windows 8 is that it is not free.

Apple's iOS system is not sold separately. By integrating value with the device, Apple also charges the developer's share fee through the AppStore platform. Google Android is also free, users use the Android service built into the Android terminal & ldquo; payment, including Google search, Google Maps and Gmail.

But Microsoft has no free habits. Some insiders told the "Daily Economic News" reporter that the price of Windows8 Home Edition is about 400 yuan, and the price of WindowsRT will reach tens of dollars. For consumers and hardware manufacturers, this is definitely not a problem. Small budget.

Microsoft recently announced that it will continue to advance the goal of providing Windows Store App Store services on a global scale and will open services in 33 countries in the next release. At that time, developers from 38 countries around the world can submit Windows 8 applications to WindowsStore.

It is understood that all versions of Windows 8 will include Metro applications for managing email, calendar, photos, instant messaging, music and video, etc. WindowsRT version will also include Office applications, but can not run other traditions Windows software.

Touch Technology co-founder Chen Zhixuan told the Daily Economic News reporter that the most attractive to application developers is the number of users of end products, due to the accumulation of Windows platforms in this area. Not yet completed, so most developers are still on the sidelines.

Wu Huifeng, technical manager of Beijing Huaguoshan Technology Mobile Platform, said that many developers are paying close attention to the progress of Windows8. Because the ARM version of Windows8 and Android application are also developed based on JAVA, it can be easily Implement product migration for existing applications.

He further explained that the Windows 8 (ARM version) application can be compatible with Microsoft's X86 architecture at the same time. In the future, consumers can install these applications on both tablets and PCs. A huge market prospect.

& ldquo; It can be said that Windows 8 redefines the tablet, the past device can only be called a tablet, and Windows 8 is truly compatible with the various properties of the computer, and adds mobile and portable product features. At the same time, the cost of software migration from the old version of Window to Windows 8 is also very low. In the future, people can conveniently use large software such as Office and Photoshop on Windows 8 tablet, and X86 programmers will also invest in this camp. & rdquo; Wu Huifeng said.

Android Crisis

The Android is a miscellaneous army and the least loyal group in the three camps.

“Android is a free and open source application platform. Although it can quickly occupy the market, it has also caused many problems today. & rdquo; Wu Huifeng said.

According to iResearch data, the number of Android developers worldwide reached 1.01 million in 2011, and the number of developers increased to approximately 2.208 million by 2012. More than 63% of Android developers have the most headaches for Android's "terminal fragmentation", followed by version incompatibilities, diversified resolutions, payment difficulties and excessive app stores. At the same time, only 13.8% of software developers are satisfied with the income situation, while developers who feel worse or even worse are close to 71%.

& nbsp; With the gradual maturity of the hardware and software system, Windows will return to the market, and it will first eroded the market share of Android, and will squeeze into the low-end market. Windows 8 will trigger a new consumer revolution and pose a serious threat to Apple, arguably the return of the Wintel Alliance. & rdquo; Huang Yulin said.