Cube, Pipo, Ramos… these are 3 of the most popular names in the Chinese tablet industry, ones that have managed to find a place on the world map thanks to the often very high VFM aspect that their devices bring along. If Chinese tablets aren’t your thing, its time for you to start celebrating, for budget tablets powered by the Windows OS are all set to go on sale later this year.
Microsoft had previously announced their relaxed policy for Windows licenses, which meant that any manufacturer wanting to produce devices with screens lesser in size than 9 inches could obtain a license free of cost. We believe that Microsoft’s latest announcement regarding $99 Windows tablets revolves around the same idea.
We now measure ourself by total device space. We have a much bigger opportunity than we’ve ever had in the past to grow our business, but we have to rethink how we look at our business.
– Microsoft COO, Kevin Turner
Once the world leader is the OS space, Microsoft is now left with a mere 14% share revealed Turner in his presentation. Turner attributed this to the rising smartphone and tablet usage, a market Microsoft seemingly wish to exploit in the coming months.
The prospect of a $99 Windows tablet definitely sounds good, but how well its implemented will be left to Microsoft and its hardware partners.