Microsoft's Risky Tablet Announcement 338
itwbennett writes "The New York Times describes the tablet announcement that Steve Ballmer is supposed to make in his CES opening keynote tonight as 'one of Steve Ballmer's riskiest trade show moves in years.' And blogger Peter Smith is in complete agreement. Here's why: 'Whether or not this announcement is intended as a direct response to the much-rumored Apple event that may or may not be happening on January 27th, consumers will perceive it as one,' says Smith. And if Microsoft unveils a traditional tablet then 'they'll be up against the (presumably more expensive) iTablet and the cult of Apple.' But if the device is the dual-screen Courier that we heard about back in September then it'll be up against the (presumably less expensive) enTourage eDGe, says Smith."
Microsoft's Risky Tablet Announcement (Score:1, Funny)
Microsoft's Risky Tablet Announcement
Even though this is Microsoft, I am absolutely overjoyed to see a reduced instruction set compu-tablet.
Yuck, yuck, yuck. (seriously though, it has an Intel Atom)
BTW, Hackers seems topical:
DADE: It has a killer refresh rate.
KATE: P6 chip. Triple the speed of the Pentium.
DADE: Yeah. It's not just the chip, it has a PCI bus. But you knew that.
KATE: Indeed. RISC architecture is gonna change everything.
DADE: Yeah. RISC is good.
Ballmertainment (Score:4, Funny)
I hope he throws it while chanting DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS...
at the conference... (Score:5, Funny)
sorry people, you'll all have to stand... we removed all chairs as a precaution
Re:Courier (Score:2, Funny)
One of my friends heard from his friend that his uncle's coworker heard that the Courier will be offered at a significantly marked-down price of $99 to people that have a Hotmail account that is at least 3 years old (the device will be $529 for everyone else). They will be partnering with T-Mobile to offer unlimited data service for the device starting at $20/month. They're also going to be announcing a new VOIP service that offers free unlimited calling to and from anywhere in the United States for a flat rate of 0.1 cents per minute and the VOIP software built-in to the Courier will be able to work over WiFi or T-Mobile's data network. You can use any compatible Bluetooth headset or there will be a port for a wired headset that is included. Let's see Apple try to top this announcement! Wouldn't that be cool if this was all true??
Re:A Mimic Device Is Precisely What They Want (Score:3, Funny)
But there have been *ahem* rumors about the Apple tablet for a long time! So obviously Ballmer is just trying to one-up Apple by releasing more than a rumor.
One thing I have learned: no matter how good a Microsoft product, press release, statement, or design is, it is always bad if you talk to some people, and it's not innovative. Furthermore, Microsoft - unlike most companies - tries to make a profit. Apple, on the other hand, is trying to be innovative and produce quality machines at as low prices as they can possible do out of the altruistic kindness of their heart :) Er, core.
Oblig. (Score:5, Funny)
"The Tablet takes cutting-edge PC technology and makes it available wherever you want it, which is why I'm already using a Tablet as my everyday computer. It's a PC that is virtually without limits -- and within five years I predict it will be the most popular form of PC sold in America."
Bill Gates, 2001
Re:Courier (Score:5, Funny)
My best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with a girl who saw Ferris pass-out at 31 Flavors last night.
I guess it's pretty serious.
Re:A Mimic Device Is Precisely What They Want (Score:3, Funny)
Everyone is pretty much in agreement that the 360 hardware was abysmal which is no surprise since they rushed it out the door to beat Sony.