Hardware 2.0

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Windows 8 tablet requirements - The good, the bad and the ugly

By Adrian Kingsley-Hughes | January 18, 2012, 7:56am PST

Summary: Microsoft seems to have got some things right, missed the mark on others, and totally missed the mark in other areas.

I’ve been working my way through Microsoft’s Windows 8 tablet hardware requirements and in my option it’s a mixed bag. Microsoft seems to have got some things right, missed the mark on others, and totally missed the mark in other areas.

Let’s take a tour of the good, the bad and the ugly.

The Good

Minimum display size is 1366 x 768 - that’s a good move.
Cameras must be 720p or better.
Physical ‘touch marks’ for NFC hardware sensor to make using it easier.
One USB port, Bluetooth 4.0, WLAN, gyro, accelerometer, speakers, light sensor, and magnetometer must be fitted.
Rebootless display driver update.
Firmware must be UEFI (death to the BIOS!).

The Bad

No mandatory USB 3.0 support, only USB 2.0.
Too many mandatory hardware buttons - power, rotation lock, Windows key, volume up and volume down buttons. Odd there’s not a mute button too …
Windows ‘Start’ button is a physical button, like it is on Windows Phone hardware. I’d still much prefer a software button.
Five-point touch. Maybe I’m spoiled by the 11-point touch present on the iPad.
No mention of a Kensington security slot. These are handy on business hardware.
There must be at least 10GB of free storage after the Windows ‘out-of-the-box’ experience has completed. That doesn’t feel like a lot to me,

The Ugly

No mandatory battery life specs. Microsoft talks a lot in the documentation about ‘All Day Battery Life’ but there are no hard numbers for OEMs to adhere to. Will any Windows 8 tablet match up to the iPad’s 10-hours of juice?
No mandatory camera requirement (except that if fitted it MUST be 720p or better). This seems strange.
No ‘2 second resume’ rule for ARM hardware while PCs must resume from S3 standby in 2 seconds or less. Seems odd not to push for a lower limit, even if it’s not 2 seconds.
Secure boot feature on ARM cannot be disabled. This seems like a slippery slope to me.

There’s one factor that we’re still unclear on - price. I still think that this will be the make or break factor for Windows 8 tablets. If the price is right, people will give them a chance, if not, they’ll give their money to Apple.

What are your thoughts on the Windows 8 tablet requirements?

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Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Windows 8, Tablet Requirement, Tablets, Notebooks, Hardware, Notebooks & Tablets, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology.

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Meh-give reason to back up your statements

ak87 2nd Feb

No Kingston slot? Really? You are complaining about that, and then complain that every other tablet INCLUDING the iPad doesn't have one. They only add bulk and cost, and I am sure that if a company implements Window tablets in let???s say a lab, then they will use something similar to what wireless companies use or Wal-Mart with their cameras. Also if there is a big enough demand then a company like Lenovo or HP will design one with a Kingston slot. But I will agree 10 GB (especially on a x86, I would have a hard time finding space after installing Matlab and Office) remaining is small BUT that is a minimum and I am sure like laptops you will be able to get different HDD/SDD sizes, and if you run out of space mount an SD card (if there is a slot). The thing I am curious about is a memory card slot (SD, MMC, XD, and MS), I wasn???t really expecting them as a requirement but I am sure they will be on the tablets as they let a person expand the storage capacity (unlike iPhones and iPads) without attaching a dongle to the USB port. The rest of the gripes come down to what I think is Windows trying to make a Win Tab as cheap as possible, I recently did a survey of my peers at Purdue and almost every person who had a windows computer and an iPad said that they would get rid of their iPad and buy a Win Tab if it was similar in price (468 out of about 526 in that group or about 89%). If MSFT can make a good tablet OS that is familiar to the Win crowd then I can see apple take a blow.

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RE: Windows 8 tablet requirements - The good, the bad and the ugly

owlnet 18th Jan

Had to disagree with the bad and ugly sections. The Win 8 tab requirement seems to be well balanced so that OEMs can make them at a variety of price points.

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RE: Windows 8 tablet requirements - The good, the bad and the ugly

dsf3g 20th Jan

@owlnet

Yeah, I also disagree. It's mostly a list of stuff Microsoft did not require. But let's face it: any tablet manufacturer who tries to cutr corners here will likely not succeed in the market.

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RE: Windows 8 tablet requirements - The good, the bad and the ugly

1773 18th Jan

5 touch points is a minimum requirement not maximum. OEMs are free to increase the touch points.
Also cameras are not allowed in certain high security installations or R&D departments. So I guess it makes a good use case for business.

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RE: Windows 8 tablet requirements - The good, the bad and the ugly

bitcrazed 18th Jan

Having used my Samsung Series 7 slate for 4 months now, I can attest to the sense in Microsoft's slate/tablet requirements.

Regarding buttons: Having physical volume up & down, rotation lock and power buttons is great. This slate does have the Windows button but I rarely use it, preferring the "swipe from the right" action instead for some reason, even though swipe & click is one click more! Not sure why you feel these buttons are "excessive"

It'll be very difficult for Microsoft to mandate battery life as this is highly variable based on what the user uses the device for and whether the user is powering one or more USB devices (perhaps this is why MS doesn't mandate USB3 which can pump A LOT more power out to devices than USB2?).

It'll also be difficult for Intel-based slates to meet any meaningful battery-life expectation as their mid & high-end processors currently trade power consumption for processing horsepower. For example, I can get 2.5-3 hours constant use out of my Samsung slate, but I expect more from Intel's IvyBridge processors and, of course, much more from ARM powered devices. This is definitely an area for OEM's to differentiate their offerings.

All in all, I think MS has done a good job of providing a solid definition of Win8 certified devices' capabilities without being too heavy-handed.

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RE: Windows 8 tablet requirements - The good, the bad and the ugly

smulji 18th Jan

@bitcrazed I highly doubt Intel-based tablets will use Ivy Bridge processors. If anything they will use the newly announced Atom processors announced during IDF last year and at CES this year - Medfield (2012), Silvermont (2013), Airmont (2014). These are designed for tablets & smartphones.

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RE: Windows 8 tablet requirements - The good, the bad and the ugly

bitcrazed 18th Jan

@smulji - At the low-end, limited-function tablet end of the market, I am sure that Atom processors will have a presence.

I am fully expecting that business-focussed tablets that can be docked with a keyboard base, in a manner similar to the Acer Transformer does, or docked to a docking station as the Samsung does. Such tablets can double as laptop/desktop replacements whilst also having the portability and touch-screen that will enable them to become tablets when appropriate.

I've quite taken to using my Samsung slate docked to its docking station as my main office workhorse and using my other laptops for development work.

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RE: Windows 8 tablet requirements - The good, the bad and the ugly

Aerowind 18th Jan

I hate this comment system always losing my posts. I don't feel like typing up again why I believe this article to be flawed, though I will say...why are you complaining about having PC level harddrive space when you just got finished writing an article about how we've moved away from needing it? Cloud only and all that jazz. If you really need more than 10GB, maybe you're not as post-PC as you thought.

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RE: Windows 8 tablet requirements - The good, the bad and the ugly

kenosha77a 18th Jan

@Aerowind

Type your comment in a text editor beforehand and then paste it into the ZDNet comment box. This will save you a lot of frustration.

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Same here

Joe_Raby Updated - 18th Jan

@Aerowind

Send a note to Tammy Cavadias ( tammy.cavadias@cbsinteractive.com ) to find your post in the thread and she'll unblock it for you.

The spam filter seems to be getting more and more agressive as of late.

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Article is rediculous

chrisconnolly 18th Jan

Seriously, all of your complaints in the Bad/Ugly are really off-base. The minumim requirements seem totally reasonable to me. In fact they are great! You're treating them like they are absolutes. They're great minimums and will let manufacturers differentiate and provide for more price points based of features. Again, silly article that is making up things to complain about. How about some real journalism instead of coming up with this crap.

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RE: Windows 8 tablet requirements - The good, the bad and the ugly

tallbruva 19th Jan

@chrisconnolly

Agreed. There a "minimum" requirements. That means even the cheapest tablet is going to have at least these specs. Anything better than flea market sales will have much better specs. For that matter, even flea market tablets will have at least these specs.

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Not everybody needs or wants a camera.

Michael Kelly 18th Jan

In some cases, a camera can be bad, especially if it is to be used for a child. Having the camera on a child's computer is one more thing a parent has to worry about when they are online.

And not everybody needs one. When I buy laptops or PCs at work nowadays I get questioned as to why I have a camera built in, and the reason is basically that I didn't really want it but the overall price and specs of the product were the best available despite the fact that it had something I did not want. But if I could have saved $30 and not gotten the camera I would have. I think a lot of other buyers would feel the same way.

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RE: Windows 8 tablet requirements - The good, the bad and the ugly

Loverock Davidson- 18th Jan

The bad and the ugly parts can be ignored as you made no real case for it. All the specs sound reasonable, even your so called bad and ugly. 10gb of free space is a minimum. 720p camera is a minimum. Most devices are still USB 2.0. A kensignton slot? Really? Battery life depends on the hardware and software. No need to disable secure boot feature since you will want to use Windows on it anyway. You just wanted to find something wrong with Windows 8 tablets but really couldn't come up with anything.

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RE: Windows 8 tablet requirements - The good, the bad and the ugly

Stephen-B 18th Jan

You're completely wrong. The brilliant minds at Microsoft know best what these tablets should contain. Mark this date, as it is the day that that stupid Crapple Ipad begins it's slide into irrelevancy. Within six months of the first Windows 8 tablet goes on sale Crapple will lose the tablet war! Just like they will lose their marketshare in phones by September to Nokia

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RE: Windows 8 tablet requirements - The good, the bad and the ugly

danbi 19th Jan

@Stephen-B

What about the Android tablets?

Nokia admitted defeat when they decided to sell Windows Phone. But Nokia is large company with a lot more business than smartphones and they do have the option to just abandon Windows Phone if it does not bring them enough profit, or image.

If Microsoft are so great, why don't they come up with their own product, that includes the hardware as well? Until they do, they will have the fate of Google in this market.

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RE: Windows 8 tablet requirements - The good, the bad and the ugly

Stephen-B Updated - 19th Jan

@danbi Hemmoroid tablets are not selling. Windows 8 tablets will sell more on their debut weekend than any other product in the history of the world. Expect over 100 million units within six months. The best part is each sale of a Windows product is a small stab at those thieves that write Linsux, and Crapple MAC ios.

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RE: Windows 8 tablet requirements - The good, the bad and the ugly

dsf3g Updated - 20th Jan

@Stephen-B

Are you mkaing fun of Microsoft fanboys, or are you one of them. Hard to tell.

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Good move?

Bart B. Van Bockstaele 18th Jan

**Minimum display size is 1366 x 768 - that???s a good move.**

I disagree. This is a very awkward resolution. if 1366 is the width, 768 is way too low.

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RE: Windows 8 tablet requirements - The good, the bad and the ugly

danbi 19th Jan

@Bart B. Van Bockstaele

It may be awkward, but such displays are the cheapest available.

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Far be for me to disagree with you, but....

sean_hando@... 18th Jan

Picky, picky, picky....

???No mandatory USB 3.0 support, only USB 2.0.
-I can live with this as, other than external hard drives, I don't see any other devices that require USB 3.0

???Too many mandatory hardware buttons - power, rotation lock, Windows key, volume up and volume down buttons. Odd there???s not a mute button too ???
-Why would you need a mute button when that'll be available as a soft button on screen. The minimum buttons required sound fine to me. Besides, these'll be tablets, not phones, so there'll be a lot of space to place them without being in the way.

???Windows ???Start??? button is a physical button, like it is on Windows Phone hardware. I???d still much prefer a software button.
-But your precious Apple iPod/iPhone/iPad devices all have an equivalent button (the Home button). The Windows button is also required to be used to do a hard boot (just like the aforementioned Apple devices when they crash) by selecting it and the power button for a few seconds.

???Five-point touch. Maybe I???m spoiled by the 11-point touch present on the iPad.
-Last I looked, I had five fingers on each hand. A five-point touch MINIMUM requirement sounds right to me.

???No mention of a Kensington security slot. These are handy on business hardware.
-This is not something that is in anyway associated with software, now it sounds like you're stretching to find something wrong.

???There must be at least 10GB of free storage after the Windows ???out-of-the-box??? experience has completed. That doesn???t feel like a lot to me.
-Again, a MINIMUM. This also doesn't account for the fact that many devices will have a slot for external memory chips and that you can connect an external drive via the USB 2.0 interface.

???No mandatory battery life specs. Microsoft talks a lot in the documentation about ???All Day Battery Life??? but there are no hard numbers for OEMs to adhere to. Will any Windows 8 tablet match up to the iPad???s 10-hours of juice?
-Because you'll be able to do so much more with a full OS like Windows 8, as opposed to a partial OS like iOS, I wouldn't expect a Win8 tablet to meet the iPad's 10-hour 'labratory' battery life. That being said, at least a 6 hour battery life would work for me for constant usage. I anticipate using my Win8 tablet for a good part of the day plugged into a docking station so I can use a real keyboard/mouse and display monitor. 6 hours of minimum unplugged usage time would be more than adequate IMHO. For use on a long flight across the ocean, this'll be a problem, but perhaps someone could manufacture a battery unit that'll plug into the external power connection to extended use.

???No mandatory camera requirement (except that if fitted it MUST be 720p or better). This seems strange.
-A minimum 720p camera is good for video, but I think it's safe to assume that for still images the resolution of most, if not all, devices will be much higher (remember that 720p resolution is not even 2MP)

???No ???2 second resume??? rule for ARM hardware while PCs must resume from S3 standby in 2 seconds or less. Seems odd not to push for a lower limit, even if it???s not 2 seconds.
-Again, Windows 8 is a real desktop OS, unlike iOS and Android which are significantly less capable OSs. I would hope that if an x86 tablet can wake from sleep in 2 seconds that an ARM one could do the same, but that remains to be seen since none of those devices exist yet.

???Secure boot feature on ARM cannot be disabled. This seems like a slippery slope to me.
-This so-called issue has been dealt with by other bloggers with an agenda. I don't see it as a slippery slope at all for the 99% (like the occupy movement, this number has no basis in reality, I just put it there for shock value, so no comments on my need to prove it, please) of users who don't want to install another OS onto these devices. If you really want to install Linux/Android onto these devices, I'm sure someone will come up with a way to do it that isn't supported by the hardware manufacturers and Microsoft.

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RE: Windows 8 tablet requirements - The good, the bad and the ugly

dave@... Updated - 18th Jan

@sean_hando@... Windows 8 on ARM anyway is not a desktop OS in the least.. it's Metro/WinRT only. The final word on what, exactly, Windows 8 for Intel-based touch tablets will be is still out.

Meanwhile, both iOS and Android are UNIX-based OSs. Particularly, Android itself is middleware that runs over top Linux... an OS that's "full" enough to power most of the internet, most data center "big iron" machines, and most supercomputers.

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RE: Windows 8 tablet requirements - The good, the bad and the ugly

danbi 19th Jan

@sean_hando@...

I can understand that you don't travel enough and apparently do not really need an mobile tablet device. Battery life in an mobile device is everything.

If you need more compact desktop, it will be wiser to invest in such.

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RE: Windows 8 tablet requirements - The good, the bad and the ugly

DJL64 19th Jan

@sean_hando@... Five fingers on each hand, plus you can use your nose and tongue, so they should have 12 touch points. Any more would be rude.

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RE: Windows 8 tablet requirements - The good, the bad and the ugly

shsdarwin 18th Jan

Kensington slot! Really mate, on a tablet? A tablet is designed for portability, not locking down.

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RE: Windows 8 tablet requirements - The good, the bad and the ugly

sean_hando@... 18th Jan

@shsdarwin

A tablet is the evolutionary next step from a laptop, all of which normally have a security lock slot. I would anticipate that tablets, given how their processing speeds are bound to increase significantly in the coming year, will soon be replacing laptops for business users once Windows 8 is released. For me, battery life is the big wait-and-see potential issue (in addition to the Metro UI interface) as I'd think a 6 hour battery life should suffice in an office environment where they'll normally be plugged into a docking station where they'll need to be locked with a Kensington slot.

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RE: Windows 8 tablet requirements - The good, the bad and the ugly

Fletchguy 18th Jan

Unless they offer another UI instead of the useless ugly metro panel ui windows 8 in any version is a fail.WP& has already proven this. people do not like it at all.

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RE: Windows 8 tablet requirements - The good, the bad and the ugly

Stephen-B 18th Jan

@Fletchguy Metro is the future, Microsoft is,as usual, leading the next revolution in computing rather than following. That is why Microsoft is the most innovative company on the planet

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RE: Windows 8 tablet requirements - The good, the bad and the ugly

danbi 19th Jan

@Stephen-B

But of course, if it was not Microsoft we would not know what a computer is. happy

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RE: Windows 8 tablet requirements - The good, the bad and the ugly

Stephen-B 19th Jan

@danbi if not for all the hard work, and dedication to the common good, shown by Microsoft. The vast majority of the population couldn't afford computers, or the Internet. So everyone should thank Microsoft fr their tireless efforts to improve the lives of millions. Microsoft's innovations have been shamelessly copied by the Linsux people, the by the liars at Crapple.

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I like the 5 point touch being bad

gak@... 18th Jan

Of cause, it is bad to have a 5 point touch, 11 point one is much better. When I try to imagine how all 11 points can be used, it is always funny, but in a slightly different way depending on the sex of my imaginary user.

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RE: Windows 8 tablet requirements - The good, the bad and the ugly

dsf3g 23rd Jan

@gak@...

LOL... I'd never bothered to wonder where that 11th digit was supposed to come from.

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RE: Windows 8 tablet requirements - The good, the bad and the ugly

bibleverse1 18th Jan

Requirement for USB 2.0 is not bad

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Spec problem

dave@... 18th Jan

Right now, before they even launch, the Intel-based touch tablet architecture has priced itself out of the general market. This seems to be a habit when Intel and Microsoft get together on tablets. Or small laptops... it took ASUS to deliver a small laptop (eg, the Netbook) that wasn't actually quite a bit more expensive that the average full sized laptop (which was about $520 in the USA in 2010, and has fallen a bit in price since then).

At current prices, even the Taiwanese are going to have trouble delivering these for less than $800-$900 retail. Maybe that'll play in some business applications, just as the $2000+ stylus-based Windows tablets did. In fact, perhaps exactly as such, as those sold in tiny numbers compare to pretty much any other segment of the PC market. Not to mention the vast numbers of iPads shipped.

To the consumer, a tablet is something "less" than a laptop. It doesn't run a desktop OS, it runs a tablet OS, with much simpler applications. This is not going to be any different for Windows touch-tablets. ARM-based tablets will only run Windows RT/Metro apps, and that's fairly likely for x86 tablets, even from a practical sense -- they won't be fast enough, they won't have the storage, and they won't have the keyboard/mouse necessary to run legacy apps, even if they do ship with Win32/64 and POSIX API servers as well as WinRT (which is still an open question, far as I've heard ... Microsoft hasn't said, and this does become a significant battery life issue as well, supporting all that legacy stuff that might be deemed unnecessary, as it was on the Windows phones).

In short, Microsoft gets to call anything they like "Windows", but the Windows tablets have essentially nothing to do with Windows desktops of today, other than the brand name, and the idea that Microsoft intends to inflict this same tablet OS on desktop users. You can't "side-load" Metro apps, they only come from the Zune Store. They're apps, not full applications, just like the iPad's apps. In short, these are the zPads, made to directly compete with the iPad.

There's nothing inherently wrong with that. Particularly if you look at the numbers... Apple's about the only PC vendor that grew their market share last year, but MacOS was only 20% or so of Apple's business. Their portable devices are a huge market.

Thing is, Apple's also weirdly established as a luxury market brand. They sell 90% of the PCs sold at $1000 or more, even though they only have about 5% of the PC market. Their $500 entry-level iPad is exactly half the price of their $1000 entry-level laptop. So a $500 tablet is seen by Apple buyers as a good deal.

However, EVERY OTHER COMPANY that's launched a tablet at price parity with Apple has failed. Those doing a good business in tablets now, like ASUS and Samsung, have dropped their prices. In short, they're selling tablets at 1/2-2/3 the price of the average PC laptop. They have to. In the consumer market, Apple's a Mercedes or a BWM, as far as the regard for their brand. HP, Motorola, Samsung, LG, they're all Ford, Chrysler, Hundai or Kia... not a Lexus, not a BWM, not even a Caddy.

Maybe Microsoft will have some compelling story to get some business users on to $900 Windows touch tablets. But it's highly unlikely that consumers go there. So far, the "Windows" name has, if anything, driven people away from Windows 7 Phone... after well over a year on the market, they've moved up to 1.5% of the market, but the WinMo market has nearly been destroyed, closing in on 2%. A year ago, Microsoft has nearly 7% of the mobile phone market... a failing 7%, but Windows Phone actually made it worse, as that drove all the business users elsewhere.

Microsoft's big consumer hit is the X-Box. They really should have marketed this whole business as the xPhone and the xPad, or something similar, at least to consumers. These devices don't run actual Windows 7 code any better than the X-Box 360 does anyway, so there's really little point in that association, unless they can push Metro and WinRT onto the desktop user... who I think will resist in ways that will make Windows Vista seem like a blockbuster hit by comparison. We'll see..

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RE: Windows 8 tablet requirements - The good, the bad and the ugly

danbi 19th Jan

@dave@...

I fully agree with you.
These are perhaps the reasons why Apple markets their mobile devices with iOS -- to not set impossible expectations in users. Even if it is the same BSD UNIX based MacOS X -- just with reduced APIs.
Nobody expects an MacOS X application to run on iOS and everybody accepts this.
Still, many apparently believe in the myth that an "Windows tablet" will run any Windows (win32, why not even DOS?) application, which unless Microsoft has invented Perpetuum mobile - will not happen.

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RE: Windows 8 tablet requirements - The good, the bad and the ugly

Stephen-B Updated - 19th Jan

@danbi Crapple is putting ios on their computers, in a effort to confuse people into believing they did not steal the ideas, and some of the source code from Windows.

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RE: Windows 8 tablet requirements - The good, the bad and the ugly

danbi 19th Jan

Especially the hardware buttons requirements look too much 'iPad clone' to me.

The worst thing is the UEFI lock. That will force the manufacturers to make a choice between "anything but not Windows tablet" or "Windows only tablet", instead of "any OS tablet". If Windows is not immediately successful, and that is an big unknown, those manufacturers may just decide to abandon it.

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RE: Windows 8 tablet requirements - The good, the bad and the ugly

Stephen-B 19th Jan

@danbi if a manufacturer is truly smart, the will make the same choice as the best cellphone maker in the world did. Nokia chose to go 100%, all in on Windows for a reason. If the OEMs follow Nokia's lead, they will be winners, if not they will go bankrupt. Not picking Windows, is the sign of a company that is not smart, and doesn't deserve to survive.

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RE: Windows 8 tablet requirements - The good, the bad and the ugly

jt59 19th Jan

look for the spy tools in windows 8 and you will find them from a to z

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One OS, two tablet markets

Patanjali 25th Jan

1. x86, laptop replacements (with decent CPUs) with benefits (realtime updates & instant on) for medium to heavyweight content creation.

2. ARM for general tablet use, like media consumption and light content creation.

Both will have the Windows ecosystem benefits, like printing (the current tablet process is almost like the DOS days) and business integration (networking and access security).

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RE: Windows 8 tablet requirements - The good, the bad and the ugly

gregnewm7 25th Jan

it's not just the specs that will make windows 8 Tablets great it's Apps like a
amazon app so people can buy music movies tv programs clothes ect. there is an App that ENABLES Windows 8 tablets to run Android apps These and other apps microsoft will have on their windows 8 tablet are what will make it or break it.