Windows 8 Demoed on LTE-Capable Snapdragon S4 Tablet

The first tablet PCs to arrive on shelves running Windows 8 have started to trickle in, unveiling great capabilities and features. 

Some of these would be powered by Qualcomm processors, and the chipmaker took its time to showcase devices at the recently ended 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. 

Microsoft and Qualcomm are working together on putting Windows 8 on devices based on Snapdragon processors, and the video embedded at the bottom of this article will offer you a glimpse at one of these devices. 

The tablet PC that can be seen there features support for AT&T’s LTE network, something that was suggested even before CES kicked off. 

“Qualcomm and Microsoft showed the results of their continued collaboration last week at CES 2012 with a demonstration of pre-release Windows 8 on Snapdragon S4 processors with LTE connectivity support,” Qualcomm notes about this video. 

In the video, you will see Stefan Kinnestrand, director of product management for the Windows Division at Microsoft, sharing some details on the new platform, as well as on what the Snapdragon S4 CPU inside it can deliver. 

He “discusses the unveiling of Windows 8 powered by Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 processors with LTE and 3G/4G wireless support, demonstrated on the AT&T 4G LTE network for the first time at CES 2012,” Qualcomm explains. 

“Qualcomm and Microsoft's collaboration enables the connected standby experience with high-speed mobile broadband, lower power consumption and advanced connectivity solutions to help enable faster, more productive, more mobile computing for users worldwide.”

Tablet PCs running Windows 8 will pack both ARM and Intel/AMD chips, but features are expected to differ from one type of devices to another. 

On x86 architecture, for example, Windows 8 is expected to offer support for legacy applications, something that might not be available for ARM-powered devices. 

Windows 8 is rumored to land on shelves in fall this year, and additional info on this will become available at that time. Hopefully, Microsoft will unveil more on this as soon as next month, when the beta version of Windows 8 arrives.

The Windows 8 Developer Preview Build 8102 M3 is available for download, via this link.

Posted in: News, Preview, Software, Tablet