Samsung has unveiled its new range of Windows 8 notebooks and tablets on Tuesday, becoming the latest company to showcase products running on Microsoft’s upcoming operating system.
The launch comes just a day after Samsung’s Taiwanese rivals Asus and Acer unveiled their own Windows 8 product ranges.
The Korean electronics giant unveiled the devices at the annual Computex fair in Taiwan. Among the devices showcased was the Series 5 Hybrid, which offers features of not only a laptop, but also a tablet.
Windows 8 is widely believed to be Microsoft’s much-overdue comeback after Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android rapid rise in the mobile devices segment. Although Microsoft has not revealed the official launch date for Windows 8 yet, most reports tend to forecast an October launch.
Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer said that Windows 8 will support a much wider range of devices, including touch-based and stylus-based smartphones and tablets, in addition to conventional desktops and laptops. This would create a comprehensive device ecosystem empowering Windows 8 to nab a bigger share of modern mobile devices.
Meanwhile, a new ABI Research survey has said that Samsung has replaced Amazon to become the second biggest tablet-maker worldwide, trailing Apple with its legendary iPad.
Apple’s iPad holds 65 percent of the worldwide tablet market, shipping 11.8 units of the much-appreciated device. Samsung, at second spot, shipped 1.1 million tablets, holding 6 percent of the market, thanks to Amazon seeing an 80 percent quarter-over-quarter fall in sales of its flagship tablet PC- the Kindle Fire.
This year Computex featured over 1,800 exhibitors grabbing 5,400 booths, two percent over previous year. It is estimated that the important IT fair will attract 36,000 foreign buyers, who may make bulk orders worth around $28 billion.
