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Monday, April 25, 2005
Gates to offer Longhorn update, new prototypes of Tablet PCs
Microsoft will look to show progress this week on meeting two of its toughest challenges -- gaining broader adoption of Tablet PCs and completing the next version of Windows.
Opening the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference this morning, Bill Gates is expected to describe some of the Redmond company's latest planning and work on Longhorn, the next Windows version, which is due on the market next year after a series of delays. Attendees will receive a preview version of Longhorn and get information to help them build computers for the next Windows version.
Gates also will show prototypes and products that build on the Tablet PC concept, which hasn't caught on among consumers to the degree that Microsoft and others in the computer industry once predicted.
The three-day conference, known as WinHEC, is an annual Microsoft gathering for people who make computer hardware and components for Windows-based machines. About 2,800 people from 500 companies are expected to attend.
The prototypes to be shown by Gates include a tablet-style computer that would be about as thin as 10 sheets of paper, with a screen that measures about 7 inches wide by 5 inches tall. It would weigh about 1 to 2 pounds, with a built-in camera, wireless capabilities, microphone and all-day battery life. The target price would be about $500 to $800.
It's a device that could be on the market within a few years, said Neil Charney, director of product management for Windows on PCs. The idea is to get hardware companies thinking about making such devices.
Similarly, Microsoft will show a new notebook PC with an external display on the shell that can be viewed with the lid closed. The idea is to let users access music, e-mail and other basic data even when otherwise powered down. Such displays could also be put on PCs or keyboards. Hardware makers could start shipping models with external displays around the Longhorn launch.
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