Windows 8 7 inch tablet?

[rkeenan]

Am I the only one that thinks a Win8 7 inch tablet would be epic? I think the 10 inch version is way too expensive for coming that late in the game to make a difference but I think a 7 inch tablet would make a huge splash. Would anyone else buy one for the $299 range? I mostly use tablets to read the news or notes from class. I am more of a fan of the 7 inch form factor.

 

[iamtim]

Personally, I've discovered I'm not a "tablet guy". I've got my laptop which is never more than an arm's reach away at home, I've got my work computer (which I'm in front of all day long), and I've got my phone for all the "in between" spots. I had a Google Nexus 7 for a while but found it to be, for me, simply redundant.

Now, that said, I do think that Microsoft needs to put out a low-cost Windows 8 tablet; the strength of Windows 8 is that it should seamlessly go everywhere, from phone to tablet to laptop to desktop. Whether that's a 7" or not remains to be seen. That size certainly seems to fit the "low-cost tablet" paradigm well, so sure!

 

[dogfish54]

I was just thinking about this, I wonder if Nokia will be making a Lumia tab. It seems that cellular / LTE support seems to add cost to the end device. Cost would be critical. $299 is probably too high, and anything less means that MS would really have to subsidize it. I would pay $299, but don't see many others doing so. Even at $199 I think it'd be a tough sell against the Nexus 7. This is really the issue that even Android faced on tablets, you have to beat on price to get any kind of forgiveness for the weaker ecosystem. Long term I think that Android tablets will be more expensive, maybe not, I heard that there are revenue sharing deals that Google offers to OEM's from ads and the play store.

Either way, the MS model is more like Apple. I just don't think a Windows tablet can compete right now at $299.

 

[CJ Thunder]

This was the rumored Xbox Surface, a 7 inch surface tablet for games. There is that and B&N Nook to run W8. If that happens...

 

[tk-093]

I think a 7" tablet would be horrible until they can totally get rid of the desktop and especially come up with a more touch friendly Office App.

 

[iamtim]

Psh. Just run the desktop in original VGA 640x480 mode.

(Seriously, though, that's a good point...)