Microsoft set to unveil Windows version for tablets, reports say

It's not clear from the reports if the new ARM-based version of Windows would be based on Windows Embedded Compact

IDG News Service - Microsoft is set to announce a tablet version of Windows at the Consumer Electronics Show next month, according to reports by Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal.

The reconfigured OS will run on processors from chipmaker ARM, according to the reports.

Microsoft already has one OS written for ARM chips, Windows CE, which is designed for use in embedded systems. The company in June said it has plans to release the next version of this OS, called Windows Embedded Compact 7, in early 2011.

This version of the OS will be targeted for devices such as set-top boxes and slates, company officials said..

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Qualcomm to Ship Fastest Chips for Phone

Are you an Smartphone and Tablet user? Be happy! Qualcomm to ship fastest chips for phone.

Qualcomm will start shipping its fastest Snapdragon dual-core chip for smartphones and tablets in the fourth quarter, with devices possibly launching by the end of this year, the company said on Monday.

The company will ship the dual-core QSD8672 chip with CPU cores running at up to 1.5GHz, said Mark Frankel, vice president of product management for Qualcomm CDMA Technologies. The chip could go into smartphones, tablets and low-cost laptops, he said.

Frankel pegged the launch date for devices with the new chip for early next year, adding that aggressive vendors could launch products "by Christmas" -- or the fourth quarter -- this year, Frankel said.

The chip is a follow-up to the dual-core MSM8660 Snapdragon chip, which started shipping in the second quarter. The 8672 has a faster processor than 8660, which includes CPU cores running at 1.2GHz. The processor in the 8672 chip is based on an Arm design and will be manufactured using the 45-nanometer process.

The chip is similar to the 8660 design with a raft of improvements compared to its previous single-core chips, Frankel said. That should bring better power management and performance to devices, Frankel said.

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