AT&T has a stake in Microsoft's Windows 8 tablets, too
It's already well established that AT&T seems to be Microsoft's best friend among the four U.S. carriers for Windows Phone. It looks like AT&T is gunning to be a friend to Microsoft on the Windows 8 tablet front, too.
A Metro Style Hemi™ – Windows 8 tablets super charged with 4G LTE – 3:30 – 4:15
Attend this session and see how to transform the higher speed and lower latency of LTE into an amazing user experience. First, learn from Qualcomm about the power of their Snapdragon chip, and how developers can tap into the Snapdragon Developer Program to create rich Windows 8 apps that help deliver differentiated consumer experiences that capitalize on LTE’s potential. Then see how the intuitive elegance of Windows 8?s Metro-style application design has been layered over this horsepower. Finally, hear how standalone applications can be transformed on this powerful platform, converting independent programs into streamlined, integrated live tiles. Opportunities abound in this session for developers of connected apps; discover how AT&T and Microsoft are working to make developing connected applications easier.
The speakers are AT&T's Jon Sharp, who is part of a team managing third-party development partner relationships for all device types, including USB data cards, netbooks, notebooks and tablets; and Lauren Thorpe, Senior director of developer relations for Qualcomm.
There is no one from Microsoft listed as a speaker for the Windows 8 tablet session, but its description does say: "Discover how AT&T and Microsoft are working to make developing connected applications easier." I'm thinking that this may have something to do with the Windows 8 contracts functionality, which includes device sharing as one of the targeted categories. It obviously also may have to do with carriers offering Windows 8 tablets to customers who sign a different kind of contract (a dataplan contract), too.
As MobileTechWorld's Daou notes, Hemi is actually a Chrysler trademark for their V8 hemispherical engines -- so the session title is perhaps just a play on that. Again, not entirely sure....
Microsoft is presenting a couple of other sessions at the AT&T devcon, including one on the Metro user interface/experience and another on Windows Azure as a platform for consumer-device connectivity.