Windows 8 tablets with Intel processors could start at prices as high as $600 compared to other non-Intel based tablets, a new report suggests. This pricing factor could have an impact on the future of the tablet market.
Intel has been relied on by many and has been a companion to the architechture of Windows for over 20 years. The problem is, that Microsoft hasn’t been in the tablet market until now, and Intel is just revving up with them. The cheap prices of Android devices are no doubt top selling, with top named electronics such as the Kindle Fire or the Galaxy Tab. The main problem is that if the prices get too high, hardware companies may “favor ARM-based chips over Intel in Windows 8.”
Why? Cheaper sells more. Even though “Microsoft has imposed some strict limitations on ARM-based hardware,” it may be a possibilty because the demand will be high and it would come at such an affordable price on ARM.
According to a report by InformationWeek, “Wintel-based Windows 8 tablets could run from $600 to $900 as a result of Microsoft and Intel’s unwillingness to budge on prices for the Windows 8 OS and Clover Trail-W chips.” Surprisingly, that would make Windows 8 tablets more expensive than their rival, Apple and their beloved iPad. Though Windows has more capabilities than iOS and is more powerful than an iPad, it certainly has no need to be priced higher than it. If Intel does not slash the prices, OEM’s will have no CHOICE but to order parts from vendors “like Qualcomm, Nvidia, and Texas Instruments.” It is not known how well Windows 8 works on ARM as of now, because Microsoft has demonstrated little or nothing about it.
Microsoft “has not officially released any pricing information on Windows 8 tablets or PCs” but has revealed a new feature called Secure Boot which “is designed to block the installation of malware.” By verifying that a program has the appropriate security certificates, the program is allowed to launch. By requirements, Microsoft wants all Windows 8 tablets to be manufactured with this feature. No questions asked. Unfortunatly, there has been some speculation that “Secure Boot would allow Microsoft to block the installation of software it views as a threat, such as Linux, on Windows 8 systems.” What Microsoft may be doing isn’t much different than Apple’s iPhone and iPad’s “Secure” functionality.