ZTE is a large chinese OEM that is a major supplier of mobile devices like mobile broadband dongles to the global telecommunications industry. They have recently put out a media statement saying that they intend to make a Window 8 tablet to compete with the upcoming iPad2.
Speaking to the UK news daily Inquirer, ZTE’s director of mobile devices operations said that the company is working on a tablet device running Windows 8 that will be coming next year (possibly right alongside the Windows 8 public launch) and will be competing with the iPad 2 from Apple. Since the iPad 3 is not out yet, ZTE seems to have so far tailored its approach to compete with the iPad 2 that has been around for over a year now.
ZTE’s director did not go in to further details about the tablet but he did talk about Windows 8. He said that the OS was a major part of their roadmap for the near future and they are definitely working on devices on the platform. The company is apparently getting ready to launch over 30 phones before this year ends and it will contain more Windows Smartphones like the recently released
ZTE Tania.
In the tablet segment, ZTE already has their Light-series of tablet like the Light-2 that uses the hybrid Pixel Qi screen a hybrid reflective and backlit display that can be read under direct sunlight and in low light and the Light-10 with the DVB-T tuner. However, none of these tablets are based on any form of Windows as of yet.
If ZTE is thinking about competing with the iPad, then the most likely processor for them to choose would have to be an ARM one. And with Qualcomm and other coming up dual core ARM processors with speeds of 1-2GHz, the search for the right chip should not be hard. Combined with Windows 8′s intelligent array of UI and other features and the touch-first philosophy, it should be able to compete with the current iPad on level grounds. Especially if the Windows 8 app environment has a fast growth curve with really good apps to be had.
Windows 8 is already causing a lot of manufacturers to look in to tablet all over again and will probably cause another torrential tablet downpour starting next year at the World Mobile Congress Barcelona. With Microsoft vast network with OEM’s and the deep market penetration of the overall Windows business, it is going to be bigger and better than the tablet boom that happened post-iPad on the shoulders of Google’s Android OS.
