AMD Shows Off 11.6-inch Windows 8 Tablet Prototype

By Jane McEntegart
published

Watch out Intel and ARM.

There are three common themes at Computex Taipei this year: Tablets, ultrabooks, and Windows 8. Some companies manage to hit all three with one product (remember Samsung's convertible ultrabook/tablet with touchscreen support for Windows 8?), while others prefer to take things one or two categories at a time. On the show floor, AMD is showing them how its done with its Windows 8 concept tablet based on its Trinity APU.

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Boasting an 11.6-inch display with a 1366 x 768 resolution, the tablet is manufactured by Compal and also comes with a nifty keyboard dock for when you want to get down and dirty and do some real work. To that end, there's also a kickstand for the tablet to prop it up on a desk or table.

AMD is hoping that tablets based on Trinity will be able to take on similar products based on technologies from rivals Intel and ARM but other than showing off this prototype, the company didn't reveal much regarding its Windows 8 plans.

Due out in the fall, Windows 8 introduces a brand new user interface for desktop users. While current Windows users are familiar with the point and click world that is desktop computing, Microsoft's Metro UI aims to transform the desktop UI into a touch-sensitive app-tacular experience similar to how we interact with tablets and smartphones.

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Jane McEntegart
29 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Bloob
    Now, this I might buy, especially if comes with a docking station or detachable keyboard ( like Asus' Transformer ).
    Reply
  • Tab54o
    Screw the tablets I want an Asian girl.
    Reply
  • Pedrovsky
    where is the tablet? I see only laptops
    Reply
  • hardcore_gamer
    Tab54oScrew the tablets I want an Asian girl.
    You can take that young Asian girl in the first picture :D.
    Reply
  • The_Trutherizer
    Pedrovskywhere is the tablet? I see only laptops
    I can only assume that they are showing it with the keyboard dock
    Reply
  • I like Trinity, but the battery life I wonder about. I haven't seen their low power Trinity APUs yet, but its hard to believe they will have a better power envelop than ULV Ivy Bridge. They would be considerably more powerful than Medfield, but Medfield is SoC and contains a lot of the logic on chip whereas AMD will have additional logic parts taking up Watts. A 17W Trinity + several watts in other parts is too much power IMO. Why not go with Brazos? While even Brazos probably uses too much power for true portability, it would be much closer to ARM and Medfield. A tablet like the way people are using the iPad simply has to be ultra portable, meaning, only plug in at night when you are going to bed or leaving work. The rest of the time, it has to be completely free of power attachment without worry of power failure. I don't see this happening with AMD's solution.
    Reply
  • airborne11b
    Good for amd. I hope they can make something worth while in the tablet sector. I'm sick of seeing amd flop around in the enthusist cpu sector and getting pounded by intel as bad as they have been over the past 5 or 6 years.

    At least getting it right in the low end market can save the company due to the majority of profits that the tablet/notebook market brings in.
    Reply
  • pjmelect
    Screw the tablets I want an Asian girl.

    Screw the Asian girl I want any girl.
    Reply
  • tmk221
    It will probably be much cheaper then similar intel based devices. And their updated APU with Piledriver cores and VLIW4 gpu looks quite strong.
    Reply
  • djscribbles
    hardcore_gamerYou can take that young Asian girl in the first picture .

    If you turn that sentence around you can get some of both.
    Reply