Windows 8 could live or die on how well the operating system sells on tablet devices. Now Intel has said it is working with as many as 10 different PC vendors to create tablets that will run Windows 8 and will have Intel"s processors running things inside.
PCWorld.com quotes Intel China chairman Sean Maloney as saying, "You"ll probably see many Intel-based tablets by the end of this year." He declined to say which vendors will be making Windows 8 tablets. However some companies such as HP and Dell have already announced plans to make a business-themed tablet for Microsoft"s next operating system.
Many of those tablet products will likely run on Intel"s upcoming mobile processor, which has the code name "Clover Trail". The processor will have a clock speed of 1.8 GHz, according to a slide presentation by Maloney during a presentation this week at the Intel Developer Forum in Beijing.
The big question is whether or not there will be a large enough market for Windows 8 tablets. A report posted this week by Gartner predicted that Microsoft"s tablet market share will be 4.1 percent in 2012 but will increase to 11.8 percent by 2016. However, that same report also predicted that Windows 8 tablets would be more popular with IT professionals rather than the general public.