At Computex in Taiwan on Wednesday, Microsoft touted the over 40 new Windows PC and Windows Phone handset designs showcased by its hardware partners at the show. As you might imagine, the devices vary wildly, with more hardware makers coming on board and offering a more diverse range of products than ever before.
"Our expanding ecosystem of partners is helping us deliver a broad range of Windows devices with new designs across more price points and in new markets," Microsoft corporate vice president Nick Parker writes in a new post to The Official Microsoft Blog. "The devices range from the most personalized mobile phones to the most mission critical of Internet-scale datacenters."
I wrote about a few of these new designs in "PC Makers Try to Transform the Industry" earlier in the week. Since then, a vast array of other devices have been announced, including some interesting options Microsoft showed off during a Computex press event. These include, among many others:
Acer Aspire S7. One of a few premium laptops, which is coming soon with Intel’s newest Core chipset, codenamed "Broadwell."
Aspire Switch 10. A 2-in-1 Windows-based laptop with a detachable screen and SnapHinge connector.
Acer Aspire V11. One of several new laptops Microsoft showed off, this laptop "provides style at a very affordable price" with touchscreen support.
ASUS All-in-One PT2001. An all-in-one hybrid desktop PC that provides five hours of battery life and can be moved around the house with a built-in handle. It will cost $699.
Dell Inspiron 11 3000 Series. A 2-in-1 Windows-based laptop with a flip-around screen.
Dell Latitude 13 Education Series. A new laptop offering optimized for the classroom.
HP Pavilion 10 Touchsmart. An AMD A4 Processor-based device with Miracast support that will cost just $299.
HP Pro x2 612. A 2-in-1 Windows-based laptop with a detachable screen.
Toshiba Encore 2. A 10-inch Windows-based tablet.
Toshiba Encore 7. A 7-inch Windows-based tablet.
Some of these devices will utilize the next-gen "Broadwell" processor, while some utilize Microsoft's recent "$0" licensing fee for Windows on low-end devices. Many of those latter devices are heading to China, Microsoft noted.
Microsoft also introduced some new Windows Phone handsets from its most recent partners, including the BLU 5", Prestigio MultiPhone 8400 DUO, Prestigio MultiPhone 8500 DUO, and YEZZ Billy 4.7, which is named after Bill Gates.
"This new breadth of Windows Phone 8.1 devices is a result of the announcement we made in February at Mobile World Congress in cooperation with Qualcomm, which enables device manufacturers to quickly and efficiently broaden their portfolio with Windows Phones and now with $0 Windows," Mr. Parker noted.
All of the devices that Microsoft showcased at Computex will ship in calendar 2014.
