Apparently not pleased with sales of its existing Windows 8 laptops, Microsoft is reportedly offering discounts on the operating system to original equipment manufacturers (OEM).

The idea behind the discounts is to create more demand and incentive for OEMs to develop smaller touchscreen devices featuring Windows 8 for later this year.

Previously, a bundle of Windows 8 plus Office was being sold by Microsoft for $120 (UK£80, AU$116), but the discounts that began in February, according to a Wall Street Journal source, saw that price slashed to just $30 (UK£20, AU$19) for devices 10.8 inches or smaller.

Devices larger than 10.8-inches got a similar $30 discount, though just for Windows 8 by itself.

Windows pains

Sources speaking with the Journal revealed the price slashes, though Microsoft itself evaded a straight answer when questioned.

“As we’ve said before, Windows 8 was built to scale across all sizes of PCs and tablets – large and small,” a spokesperson told the Journal.

“We continue to work with partners to ensure that Windows is available across a diverse range of devices.”

In the past, Microsoft hasn’t been as willing to shift its strategy by lowering the licensing fees for equipment makers, but the rise of Google’s cheaper Chromebooks and Android tablets may have caused the Softies to adjust their game plan.

Microsoft’s new focus appears to be on reaching the smaller touchscreen market just as the back-to-school season starts, and more consumer-friendly pricing would certainly help Windows 8′s sales at that crucial time of year.

The desire for Microsoft’s own Surface tablets weren’t all that impressive the last time we checked, indicating the company’s shift away from traditional PCs hasn’t gone as planned.

Perhaps some of those slow sales could be attributed to how hard it’s been to get a hold of a Surface Pro. However, the lack of retail movement has been ongoing since the Surface RT launched last year.

Microsoft may be attempting to rejigger its consumer strategy with this discount, though we won’t know for sure until we start seeing more Windows 8 devices hit the market.

Google released updates for its Chrome browser across Windows, Linux, Android and iOS on Monday, adding minor features and tweaks to all four operating systems.

Chrome iPhone and iPad were updated to version 25, adding “long press” on the back button, which lets users view multiple recently visited pages, plus the ability to share web pages via messages, Google said in an announcement.

For Android, Chrome received faster and more responsive scrolling. What’s more, Google reported in a blog post that it had improved the browser’s performance benchmark on Android by 25 percent, so “interactions within web pages in the browser are snappier.”

On Windows and Linux, the main, “stable” Chrome release just got bumped to version 25.0.1364.152, an incremental update that provides “security and stability improvements” and bug fixes, according to yet another announcement.

Google search improving

Google also mentioned today that an update to Google search within Chrome for iPhone and iPad will roll out “over the coming days.”

With the new search update, the omnibox at the top of the screen will display the search term instead of the search results URL, and it will be easier to “refine your search queries and view more results on the search results page.”

Google added that it’s “continuing to add plenty of under-the-hood stability, security improvements and bug fixes” to both the iOS and Android versions of the Chrome app.

Crashes on iOS?

Despite the snappy updates, several users reported that the iOS version was crashing after Chrome 25 was installed. Some noted that their devices were jailbroken.

TechRadar tested out the Chrome 25 update for iOS on an iPhone 4S running iOS 6.1.2, a jailbroken iPhone 4 with iOS 5.1.1, and an iPad mini on iOS 6.1. The update seemed to work fine on all three devices.

We reached out to Google to determine whether the company was aware of any issues with the Chrome for iOS update, and we’ll update this story if and when the company offers a response.

A new classification from the Federal Communication Commission indicates Asus may be readying the release of an 18-inch tablet for 2013.

Though concrete details on the tablet are sparse, the P1801-T model number given to the tablet may be indicative of the device’s size.

Asus’ Eee Slate EP121 ended up being a 12-inch tablet, and the company’s Nexus 7 tablet was a 7-inch device created for Google.

Engadget speculated the P1801-T may be the finalized version of Asus’ Transformer AiO, which debuted at Computex back in June, and hasn’t been seen since.

Dual-wielding OS

The Transformer AiO is a massive tablet which was created to run two operating systems, with Android as one, and either Windows RT or Windows 8 as the other.

As if the FCC filing wasn’t enough indication of the mysterious tablet’s existence, GLBenchmark also debuted some specs for a P1801 device.

According to the benchmarking, the P1801 will run Android 4.1.1, and will include a Cortex A-9 processor powering a 1920 x 1032 display.

Just how and when the device would use either of the operating systems isn’t clear from the information available now, and likely won’t be cleared up until the P1801 is formally announced by Asus.

With CES 2013 set to kick off on Jan. 6, the wait might not be that long until Asus divulges more on its mystery tablet.

I’m sure most of the people today have a mobile phone in their hand atleast. Regardless of the operating system and features, the most addictive game apart from Angry Birds is the Fruit Ninja game…



Credits: This article is copyrighted to Radha Krishna who actively blogs at Techzene.Com

HTC could be readying two sizes of Windows RT tablets for next year, according to a rumour from Bloomberg. And one of them will be the first 7-incher to run the operating system.

Just the other day, another rumour said that Nokia would release a Windows RT tablet next year too. So it could be a big year for the operating system.

Sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that HTC is working on 12-inch and 7-inch Windows RT tablets that can make phone calls as well. They’ll run on Qualcomm chips.

We’re looking at a release sometime late in the summer, according to the sources.

Windows 8 ‘too pricey’

HTC considered making tablets running Windows 8, the report says, but seeing as it would have to charge around $1,000 to turn a profit, it proved too costly.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was said to be meeting with Peter Chou of HTC recently to discuss the Taiwanese company’s Windows Phone plans. The two could also discuss Windows RT tablets at the meeting.

HTC was previously rumoured to be working on a Windows 8 tablet. The chief product officer confirmed it was interested in the market.

Nokia has also been rumoured to be working on a tablet for some time. Its Windows RT device is said to be announced in February at Mobile World Congress.

Via Bloomberg