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Dell Dumps Keyboardless Windows RT Tablets
jfruh writes "On Friday, Dell was selling Windows RT tablets for as low as $300. By this morning, the cheapest one on offer was $479. The difference? The only tablets they're selling now come bundled with keyboards, which may indicate that customers are finding even the Metro-focused RT version of Windows 8 too irritating to navigate by touch alone. (If you really want a 10-inch Dell tablet without a keyboard it looks like you can still get one on Amazon, at least for the time being.)"
sell those silly things for $100 and people will be able to put a real OS on them to be useful
I suspect that the keyboard was initially not included to (a) make the cost of ownership seem less than it would later prove to be, and (b) give people the impression that Windows 8 could be used in some reasonable fashion entirely via touch. Neither of which is true, of course.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
A friend of mine is a teacher. Her school got a bunch of these keyboardless RT tablets, one for each student. She brought hers out to our writer's group last night with the intention of getting sued to it.
It wouldn't boot up, so her techie boyfriend started messing with it, He got it to boot to an error message of the "Press F1 to continue" variety...
...on a keyboardless tablet. He and I had a good laugh.
Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
You cannot wash away blood with blood
So first MS inappropriately tries to put a desktop operating system on to smart phones where it's pretty much unusable.
Then they decide inappropriately to put a smart phone operating system on to a desktop where it is pretty much unusable.
Genius. Pure and inappropriate genius.
Windows RT tablets are a collectors item and you'll be able sell them on E-Bay for a tidy sum. And this is a great reason to buy one today.
Probably true in 10-15 years when the current inventory is down.
... it strikes me that the main reason to buy Windows RT over the competition (e.g. Android or iOS) is Office. Realistically, Office needs a keyboard so offering a keyboardless version is just another part for Dell to manage. It likely leads to poor reviews and extra support issues as well, since some ill informed people are going to buy the cheaper keyboardless version and expect Office to work as well as it does with a keyboard.
If a tablet must have a keyboard, due to a lousy operating system interface; why not build a proper 10" netbook with all accesories for $400?
Atleast then, the Windows OS would run all Windows applications, including legacy applications. Now the only 'apps' or applications on a Windows RT would be those on the Windows Store; which are largely useless and unusable.
Microsoft and its partners seem totally confused on what constitutes a tablet, what is a notebook and what is a desktop. Why would anyone want to run a full fledged Office package on a 10" tablet? What else could be the reason for investing more than $400 on a smallish computing device?
If you keep throwing chairs, one day you'll break windows....
Well, Swirl-swipe, triple tap, Windows Key+C+4, followed by shoving a charm bar across the screen diagonally probably wasn't as efficient as clicking the start menu after all.
Well the MS design intent is for all WinRT devices to be locked down.
Since MS Secure Boot has already been cracked, it will probably be a matter of time.
I'd rather have the $300 one with a $10 keyboard from the drug store if all I'm doing is sitting on the sofa surfing...and a mouse...and a different OS.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
I just got a flier from Dell. All of the systems came with WIN7.
Making it more expensive should fix it.
I have an exploit to load NT kernel drivers at near-boot time on RT tablets. It's not as good as a true Secure Boot exploit, but in theory it would be good enough to make a Linux/Android build for Surface RT.
Screenshot of my Surface RT running Windows RT with a kernel debugger, which should not be possible under Microsoft's Secure Boot configuration.
"Screw Sun, cross-platform will never work. Let's move on and steal the Java language." - Visual J++ Product Manager
It was called Windows Mobile. It did all right in the market, back in the days when only serious nerds and corporate executives had smartphones. It crashed and burned when iOS came out, despite being technically a vastly more capable OS than early iOS versions. Android was the nail in the coffin.
There's no place I could be, since I've found Serenity...
You are not allowed to use Office commercially on Windows RT devices. Also, it doesn't come with Outlook. This made the device positively unusable for any "professional" use. You could buy the Surface Pro later, that was supposed to have Outlook and "full legacy application windows compatibility". The fact that they have Office doesn't mean they are licensed, you have to buy a separate license for it. These things made any RT "for amateurs" only at launch. Given the fact that they were more expensive than iPads and at launch time, the iPads had way more apps available and were a proven concept, nobody was very interested in a surface RT at launch.
The keyboard feature on the surface RT is a fallacy. Yes, you can type on it. I haven't tried it myself but it could very well be a nice keyboard too. However, you need a flat surface to place the kick stand on, so it won't really work on your lap, you need a table. The angle at which you can set the screen with the kick stand is "limited" to put it mildly. You can fiddle a bit and maybe use some objects to change it to your liking, but for any semi-serious laptop-like work, you'd want an adjustable angle, so you can sit and type more or less ergonomically. Having to fiddle with this if you can buy a device that is just as expensive that has a proper laptop form factor, will make the RT not very interesting for people that sort of consumer either.
I don't know about the ergonomics of the Dell devices, but evidently, as a "content consumption device" without a keyboard, they weren't very successful, or Dell wouldn't be stopping the sales. If their devices that come with a keyboard are at least ergonomically viable, they may have a chance the surface RT never had. The OS and licensing are still going to be a challenge, but it may economically viable to make and sell these.
I was promised a flying car. Where is my flying car?
What is slashdots obsession with the surface rt?
You know why, or should know why. It what Microsoft had built to dominate the (hardware) mobile industry using its old monopoly's of Windows Desktop Applications...and Microsoft Office Insurance. Its a locked down (Secure Boot Crap) Microsoft hardware running Windowsish on (Incompatible with X86 Binary) ARM, forcing you to use Microsofts store. Using the Very Unpopular Metro(Instead of a real Desktop...and Without Desktop Applications). Hitting its OEM Abused Wives on the with a backhand of "you're rubbish". Throwing its hostages on the fire with Metro(PC's are on their 5th quarterly drop in PC sales). While the rest of the industry is moving towards Chrome and Android(Its set to eclipse Windows this year)...Dell being the last hangout because of this supposed takeover.
The reality is their is no bigger news. When will be the year of Microsoft Mobile?
It has been cut down just to get the parts "working". But it isn't a complete Office.
It's close enough for 99% of users. If they can type things and change the font occasionally, they'll be happy.
No colour or religion ever stopped the bullet from a gun