You might want to double check your assumptions on that. AFAIK, the Windows 8 tablets will be Metro only with an ARM CPU. Which means none of that two decades of software will run on it.

joe

Got my shipping notice today, it's coming FedEx instead of UPS, ugh no UPS My Choice with this shipment. It is on the way though!

Well, I ordered the new Ipad, mainly because I screwed up with my iPad 2. She Who Must Be Obeyed is happy to get my hand-me-downs.

I had the original iPad with 3G. Never really used the 3G (turned it on once or twice just to see if it worked). So when I ordered my iPad 2, I thought "I'll save a buck and get WiFi Only." Except the WiFi only models don't have a GPS and I use that quite a bit when traveling (and off line maps).

So I ordered the new iPad with 3G/4G. Place my order before 1pm PST on 3/7 but no shipping notice yet.

My shipping notice went to my Spam box, so did my order. :(

I ordered mine on March 9th. I got a shipping notice tonight at 10:00 PM, FedEx shows no record of the shipment. I will probably see movement on Sunday or Monday depending on the scans. There will probably be tons of shipping notices go out over the weekend, I am sure they are working 24/7 at the warehousing/shipping locations.

Mine arrived this morning n Louisville, can't imagine a 5 day hold. Sadly will be gone until Wed, so going to miss it. Mine is coming UPS

You won't miss it. UPS and Fedex are instructed by Apple to not deliver until the 16th. If they deliver earlier than that, it's a mistake. Release day delivery is not uncommon for them. Happens for games and videos too.

As I recall, both carriers had to make arrangements for additional secure storage at their depots for iPhones and iPods during previous releases. They had thousands of them at many of their larger hubs all waiting for release day.

joe

I'm hoping! :p

Got my dispatch confirmation on Friday followed by text yesterday. Sadly here in UK they use TNT or UPS - never had any trouble with UPS but had mammoth trouble with TNT when they delivered iPad 1 (or tried to..long story).

But, I'm changing my work plans to stay at home this week - TNT will deliver at random, in fact their service is generally random..but at least it's on its way..!

No I don't think so.

This is a tablet-cum-notebook
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5395/l...rabook-we-want

And it's definitely not ARM.

Perhaps the replacement for netbooks, selling for $300-$400 will come with ARM CPUs, but I don't see much demand for high-end devices that won't run Windows software. Remember Metro is going to be on the desktop as well, so ultimately the CPU doesn't really dictate what kind of device you are running.

Microsoft are not going to be able to sell $800+ tablets with ARM CPUs inside.

They haven't been able to sell them with Intel inside either.

The 'AT&T' model being sold in the US is the same as the model being sold everywhere else in the world, including the UK. It doesn't look like 4G LTE is being supported on UK/European frequencies with this model.

Right. That's an Ultrabook, not a tablet. Equivalent to a MacBook Air, more or less. I thought you were referring to a true tablet.

joe

No, a Macbook Air has a desktop interface and no touchscreen. That device has a touchscreen and the keyboard folds away for tablet use. It also runs Metro, which is a tablet/touch interface.

While it is technically an ultrabook, it's also a tablet.

There's no reason not to create a similar device (hardware-wise) with no keyboard.

It's true that Windows tablets to date have not sold, largely I think because they are neither fish nor fowl, essentially featuring a standard desktop OS on a tablet, however that does not mean that a touch-OS-tablet will not sell.

I think Apple have the advantage that you just get an Ipad, and it is good.

With MS they can build a great OS, but that doesn't mean the hardware, or setup on any given machine will be good.

With Windows Phone what they have done is locked down the hardware specs tight, so there is little to choose between Windows Phone devices - basically just the size of the screen, screen type (AMOLED, etc.), and appearance.

Of course this hasn't sold many Winphones yet, but it does mean the devices are solid.

For Windows Tablets, they are using the massive desktop install base to promote leverage the tablet position.

They will sell around 60 million Ipads this year, but 360 million PCs of various brands. So that's over 300 million devices, which, next year, will ALL be running the self-same OS that will be appearing in stores on tablets.

Considering that a tablet is much closer to a laptop than it is to a phone, that's a big sales tool.

Based on the description, you'd have to completely reengineer it to move the battery and main electronics to be behind the screen instead of under the keyboard. And I really do wonder how thick and heavy it would end up once you did that.

I don't think it can (as it's being shown now) compete against true tablets, AS A TABLET. Too heavy, too thick, not enough battery life. Whether it can find a market as an Ultrabook that can also be used as a tablet, at least occasionally, will be interesting.

joe