The Sony Tablet P is finally coming to the states, and it’s not far off. The Sony Tablet P’s US release date is March 4th. It will cost $399 with a two-year contract with AT&T.

It’s been available for months in the UK, and we already have a review.

That contract will require a $35 a month 3GB data plan, or you can bump the plan to 5GB a month for $50.

Game and watch

The Sony Tablet P is a unique dual-screened tablet that folds in the middle, ala Nintendo DS. Both screens measure 5.5-inches, and gaming is clearly a priority.

The Tablet P is Playstation-certified and sports a 1GHz processor, a 5MP camera, and 4GB internal storage.

So what do you think? Is the price right for a gaming-centric tablet or would you rather save some money and buy the multi-featured PS Vita?

Windows 8 Consumer Preview: what’s new?

So now we can all get a flavour of Windows 8 with the new Windows 8 Consumer Preview. We’ve taken an in-depth look at the new OS in our Hands on: Windows 8 review here and interviewed Microsoft about its new Windows.

But what’s changed? Well, pretty much everything. Last September’s Developer Preview was a simple demonstration for, yep, you’ve guessed it, developers, to show them how Windows 8 Metro apps would work.

While we could glean a lot from that version, it was nowhere near feature-complete. It wasn’t even significantly near.

This new Consumer Preview version brings a whole raft of product changes and improvements. Microsoft said today that it has made over 100,000 code modifications since the earlier build. Of the new version, Microsoft says that “with the added features, it represents a more complete view of the capabilities of Windows 8.”

“With Windows 8, we reimagined the different ways people interact with their PC and how to make everything feel like a natural extension of the device, whether using a Windows 8 tablet, laptop or all-in-one,” said Steven Sinofsky, head of Microsoft’s Windows division.

As with the earlier preview, the new beta build still doesn’t have a version for ARM processors – it’s x86 for Intel and AMD-based systems only.

However, Microsoft did demo the OS working on ARM hardware at the Consumer Preview launch during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

ARM vs x86

As Mary Branscombe explains in our Hands on: Windows 8 review, it’s therefore hard to get a complete grip on what the ARM experience will be like.

As we’ve explained previously, there will be no third-party apps on the Windows on ARM (WOA) desktop, though there will be third-party Metro apps.

WOA will also have baked-in versions of the key Microsoft Office apps – this Consumer Preview version doesn’t and Windows for the x86 platform won’t.

Microsoft says that “Windows 8 has progressed across every dimension” from what we’ve seen before.

The user experience for touch plus keyboard and mouse is now complete, says the software giant. The Consumer Preview is compatible with mouse and keyboard as well as touch.

The new Window Store is now open (also in a pre-release beta version) with the Windows 8 Consumer Preview and, as we reported earlier, all apps are now free. The store has a variety of new Metro style apps from both third-party developers and Microsoft. The store will offer recommendations

The Consumer Preview also gives you the ability to take your apps and settings with you across multiple PCs.

The Consumer Preview offers the ability to sign on with a Microsoft Account (the new name for your Windows Live ID or Microsoft Passport). That basically means you can store all your stuff in the cloud – you can keep your settings in sync across devices, use cloud storage plus use Windows Live services like Hotmail and Calendar (the Windows Live name appears to be doomed).

Of course, your stuff is also available on Windows Phone as well as your Windows PCs.

The OS also features another preview version of the new Internet Explorer – Internet Explorer 10 Platform Preview 5. The browser has been reworked so it performs across all Windows 8 devices. The interface can be edge-to-edge in Metro and it’s all nicely hardware accelerated.

Windows 8 system requirements

Windows 8 Consumer Preview works on any Windows 7 PC. Here are the basic requirements if you want it to run on your PC.

• Processor: 1GHz or faster
• RAM: 1GB (32-bit) or 2GB (64-bit)
• Hard disk space: 16GB (32-bit) or 20GB (64-bit)
• Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device or higher

Additional requirements to use certain features:

• To use touch, you need a tablet or a monitor that supports multitouch.
• To access the Windows Store and to download and run apps, you need an active Internet connection and a screen resolution of at least 1024 x 768.
• To snap apps, you need a screen resolution of at least 1366 x 768.

The Windows 8 Consumer Preview is available worldwide for download in English, French, German, Japanese and Chinese (simplified)

Download it at http://preview.windows.com and check out our Hands on: Windows 8 review.

The dual-screen Sony Tablet P will launch on the AT&T network on March 4th and bring the network’s ’4G’ speeds to the device.

The unique, clam-shell tablet will cost $399, which isn’t all that much of a discount, on a two-year contract, with expensive data plans on top of that.

Rather than full 4G LTE internet, users will only have access to the still-pretty-rapid HSPA+ download speeds available on the AT&T network.

Users will need to pay $35 a month for 3GB of mobile data or $50 a month for 5GB of downloads.

PlayStation Certified and more…

The Android 3.2 Sony Tablet P launched late last-year with two Nintendo DS-like 5.5-inch screens, allowing users to use one screen as a controller and another as a gaming screen.

The PlayStation Certified device, which also brings access to the Android Market, comes loaded with a 1GHz processor, 4GB of internal storage, a VGA webcam and a 5-megapixel rear camera.

Windows 8 Consumer Preview: Gabriel Aul

The Windows 8 Developer Preview (as the name suggests) was for introducing developers to Windows 8 and it didn’t have many of the pieces of the OS, especially not the final user interface.

The Consumer Preview obviously isn’t completely finished but it is what Director of Windows Program Management Gabriel Aul calls “the complete vision for the product”. He calls the look of the Metro start screen “more finished and more polished than it was at Build.”

In fact there have been over 100,000 code changes since the Developer Preview, which makes the Consumer Preview a wholly different beast.

And while there are new ways of switching between applications and new touch controls “we also went back and added a ton of mouse and keyboard support to complete that experience,” Aul promises.

The touch controls are a more developed version of what we saw at CES this year and Aul explains the logic behind the way they work. “The new things are all about the edges. The left and right edges are about Windows controls; the left side is about switching, the right side is about controls.

The top and the bottom edge are about app controls, and they both do the same so you can choose which you prefer.”

That makes sense for touch; “when you’re holding [a tablet] the touch is all about the edges. Ergonomically, they’re the easiest thing to hit with my thumbs.”

The Windows 8 Start Screen

The charms are carefully arranged, he says. “The Start screen [charm] is always right there under my thumb.” But it’s also optimised for mouse users, who can just roll into the corner area without having to be too precise.

“With a mouse, if I have to pick a particular pixel it needs fine control, but for the Metro controls you can just jam the pointer up into the corners – you don’t have to be precise. When I pull down a charm, I’m putting my mouse in the right place for the controls. I make a big movement to open the charms, I pull down and my mouse is there, I hit Settings and my mouse is right where the controls are so it’s a very small movement.”

Moving between Windows 8 Metro apps

Putting the mouse in the top left corner shows a thumbnail of the next Metro app, but you can pull down to see thumbnails for up to five current apps. Outlines of the thumbnail edges help make that more obvious.

“It has hints that there are tiles hidden away when I put the mouse in the corner; it’s very subtle, it’s just something to say there’s something here.” With a touch screen, swiping an app in from the left and back off screen shows the same thumbnail strip, or you can use Windows-Tab on the keyboard.

Need to see more than five apps (or to be able to jump straight to individual apps on the desktop)? Alt Tab gives you thumbnails for all running apps the way you’re used to.

The Start Menu still exists in Windows 8

And while the Start button is no longer an orb at the end of the taskbar, clicking in the corner still works (and hovering your mouse there shows a thumbnail of the Start menu you can click).

“We didn’t take the Start menu away,” he points out; “it’s just zero pixels. In the lower left corner you have Start where you expect it to be, you click it to jump back to Start. Or if I go to the lower corner and push up, I get that same switching list.”

Touch is also more responsive in the Consumer Preview, Aul claims. “We’ve got the physics of swipe dialled in now; as you swipe it really sticks to your finger. Switching performance is as fast as I can flick through, it switches.

The Windows key takes me to Start or whatever I’m doing as fast as I can do it.” Scrolling through the start screen with a mouse now works directly; instead of grabbing a scroll bar you just move your mouse to the side of the screen. That gives you a more responsive scrolling behaviour, especially if you have a scroll wheel on your mouse.

“It has a physicality to it, there’s a different response when I push a little or a lot.” And while the picture password option is certainly easier than tapping out a password on a tablet screen, Aul claims it can be more secure. “It’s cryptographically stronger than a numeric PIN and it’s actually as good as a strong password if you have a complex photo.”

Windows 8 on different devices

Aul is a big fan of Windows tablets like the Samsung Series 7 Microsoft has frequently used to demo Windows 8 (check out our Hands on: Windows 8 tablet review) but he also dropped strong hints about how Windows on ARM (WOA) tablets will fit in as companion devices that rely on syncing documents and settings.

“I love the tablet. Other people may want smaller more power efficient tablets and another computer. If I’m on the couch browsing and reading email and I want to go to work I dock it and work [on the same machine]. In the tablet scenario, I put it down, I walk over to my desktop and log in and it’ll feel just like the machine I’ve been using. The IE history is even there. I don’t have to connect it and sync stuff; it just all happens automatically.”

The Windows 8 Consumer Preview is available for download from Microsoft now. To get it, head over to http://preview.windows.com.

Acer believes that Windows 8 could well be the next tablet OS that provides a good fit for both consumer and business customers.

Currently, Acer’s research suggests that its Windows 7 tabs very much appeal to business customers, with its Android tabs squarely aimed at the consumer market.

However, Acer told TechRadar that the forthcoming Windows 8 OS could bring Microsoft back to consumer tablet devices.

“We think that Windows 8 tablets could well be a proposition for both consumers and professionals,” said a spokesperson.

Windows 7 tablet

“We were not sure when we made our Windows 7 tablet who it would appeal to. But based on our experience and the deals that we have done since launch we now understand that this was a tablet for professionals,” she added

“But Windows 8 is already a completely different story. I think it will be for both professionals and consumers.”

With Microsoft just releasing the Windows 8 consumer preview, the first devices sporting the new OS could appear at the end of 2012.

And the Metro interface, combined with the traditional desktop, is very much aimed at bridging the gap between consumers and businesses.