Intel Promises 9 Hours of Battery in Windows 8 Tablets

Tablet PCs running under Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system should soon start popping up on shelves, capable of delivering the performance levels that users are already expecting from them. 

Based on Intel architecture, some of these devices could prove the iPad competitors what Microsoft has long promised. 

In fact, Intel appears confident in their capabilities, and claims that they will indeed offer the battery life and performance capabilities to enable them top selling charts. 

At a conference in Beijing, Intel demoed Windows 8 tablets and provided more details on their hardware and capabilities, CNet reports. 

Featuring its Atom Z2760 "Clover Trail" chip, these slates should boast over 9 hours of battery life, getting really close to what Apple’s iPad has to offer at the moment. 

All the connectivity features that Apple’s users benefit from will be included with these devices as well, just as Microsoft explained a few months ago. 

Additionally, it seems that we’ll be able to enjoy a variety of form factors, including hybrid 11-inch designs that will add physical keyboards into the mix (much like ASUS’ Transformer). 

These products should hit shelves before the end of this year, most probably sometime in the fourth quarter of the year, when Microsoft makes Windows 8 available commercially. 

The platform has been long rumored to be on its way to arrive sometime in October, three years after Windows 7 was released. 

While Microsoft appears on track to meet the deadline, questions have been raised on its partners’ ability to deliver Windows 8 tablets in due time. 

Windows 8 is shaping up as a great operating system for the tablet segment, but its success is also conditioned by the hardware capabilities of compatible devices. 

Based on Intel’s sayings, we can assume that these products will be able to meet expectations, and that they will enjoy a strong start, when launched in late 2012. However, we still have roughly six months to go before they arrive, and things might change in the meantime.

Posted in: Hardware, News, Preview, Software, Tablet