Is Microsoft planning to hand out a Samsung Windows 8 slate at BUILD?

By Tom Warren, on 4th Sep 11 12:05 pm with 67 Comments

Microsoft may be planning to give away a Samsung tablet at its BUILD conference later this month.

Speculation on Microsoft’s BUILD conference giveaway kicked off last month after Microsoft employees Jeff Johnson and Patrick Hevesi showed off some new Windows powered slate devices during the “Come and see the latest and greatest in Windows Devices” presentation at Tech-Ed New Zealand. One particular device caught the world’s attention after the presenters claimed it was a Quad Core Slate that will be given out at an upcoming Microsoft event.

The Slate in question could be manufactured by Samsung. Thanks to some impressive detective work by Long Zheng, it’s clear that the device shown at Tech-Ed New Zealand is almost identical to the recently announced Samsung Series 7 Slate. Zheng points out that the side buttons and rear camera are in identical locations and the overall look of the device is near-identical. The exhaust grill and SIM slot are different. Either way, it appears the device that was shown at Tech-Ed was manufactured by Samsung.

Samsung Slate?

Microsoft is expected to supply all BUILD attendees with an ARM-based Windows 8 tablet. Microsoft previously revealed its ARM support inside Windows 8 at CES 2011. The company will supply ARM builds of Windows 8 strictly through an OEM program once Windows 8 is final. The BUILD tablet for attendees will be one of the latest and greatest Windows devices, equipped with the hardware sensors that Windows 8 will take advantage of.

Microsoft plans to unveil Windows 8 to the world at its BUILD conference later this month. Stay tuned to WinRumors for live coverage and reaction to the next-generation of Windows.

Image Credit: Long Zheng (edited photo from Alan Burchill and This is my next)

GP007

That would be a plus, and if people see Win8 running on what could be the new Samsung tablet that’s going to ship now with Win7 they’ll be more eager to buy one now and upgrade to Win8 next year instead of waiting.

Build can’t come quick enough though, either way. Should be a great 3 days.
- Anonymous
  
  The slate Microsoft will be giving at BUILD wont be the Samsung Windows 7 slate with Windows 8 installed. The 2 slates just have a very similar chassis, but the Windows 7 slate is x86, the rumored Windows 8 slate is ARM.
  
  As for upgrading, x86 machines that meet
  the system requirements should be upgradeable, but Windows 7 slates may
  not have all the hardware sensors Windows 8 needs.
Hassan Ali

I hope Microsoft will kick ass of Apple.
- http://twitter.com/BasKoene Bas Koene
  
  That’s for sure.
- AMS
  
  surely Microsoft will eat all the Apples!
- Anonymous
  
  It has already taken a ‘visible’ bite out of apple.
- Guest
  
  Are you guys on crack? In less than a year, Apple destroyed MS’s decade head start in tablets. They’ll sell 100M iPads next year. The only ass that got kicked here was MS’s. Again, just like in mobile.
- luke516
  
  Haha geust troll
- http://twitter.com/hazardousideas Paul
  
  lol
http://twitter.com/s_a_r_k_i_s sarkis chamelian

I want that NOW !!! I will KILL for Windows 8 Tablet !
- the-hq
  
  Alright people stay away from this guy
- http://twitter.com/s_a_r_k_i_s sarkis chamelian
  
  I will hunt you down and take what belongs to me….haha
- Guest
  
  Don’t worry, just hang out at the bars(where the attendees go after CES2011 event). Someone bound to be too drunk and leave the tablet behind.
- http://twitter.com/TheTylerHarvey Sent from my toilet
  
  We must BUILD a resistance. Win 8 tablet is on my to kill for list too!
http://twitter.com/BasKoene Bas Koene

I hope so….
AMS

great
AMS

great
http://twitter.com/laserfloyd Lewis McCrary

Can’t wait to see this thing in action.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Pedro-Roque/100000194503830 Pedro Roque

One week from now, I will be flying to LA! Hope that by the 13th, I have one of this babys on my hands
- http://twitter.com/LachlanCMcLeod Lachlan C McLeod
  
  get an extra one for me!
- Guest
  
  Boy are you going to be sooo disappointed if they do not give everyone a free tablet.
- Guest
  
  Maybe they got some TouchPads at the $99 clearance price and will be handing those out.
http://twitter.com/SaadElBoury Saad El Boury

the Empire Strikes back!
- Anonymous
  
  But they ultimately lose….but give it a few years and George Lucas will change the outcome of the movie.
http://twitter.com/jimmyfal Jimmy Fallon

They need to understand that it’s not good enough to make something good enough! More power, longer battery life, thinner and lighter. Sorry but until they start doing THAT to Apple it won’t make a big enough dent. IMO. I am psyched to see it though.
- Anonymous
  
  Im sure they’ll do their best, as a software company, to help that along.
- Guest
  
  Not good enough. The end product experience has to be much better for them to have any chance now that they’re so far behind in tablets. It can’t just be an OS that works slightly better on a tablet than W7, which barely functions at all in that scenario. Especially since most of the OEMs have already committed to Android. So like with WP7, they’re not going to be giving this their best effort.
  
  MS needs to step back and identify what’s required to do that. It’s going to take a great OS, great hardware, strong content, fantastic marketing and a lower price point than iPad. If that means selecting only one OEM to work with on a deeper basis, like they did with WP7 on the Nokia deal. so be it.
- rsgx
  
  Most OEMs have committed to Android… and how’s that going for them?
  
  Android has nothing on the iPad (for now), but if you think that the most popular OS in the world, optimized for every form factor available won’t stand a good chance against the iPad then you are delusional.
- Anonymous
  
  I own a Honeycomb tablet. It makes me miss Windows 95. Windows 8 will be miles ahead. We’ll see what Google can do with Ice Cream Sandwich.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Viki-Maverick/100002523433166 Viki Maverick

Windoze is going to bulldoze the competition.
Idontwantto

but isn’t this an x86 device. I’d rather see an arm based tablet than this. This might be great for doing early w8 development, but the interesting thing everyone wants to see is how smooth the w8 arm build is going to run, in terms of speed, driver comparability, touch responsiveness etc
- http://pulse.yahoo.com/_KTAHVKS2RNDWTQPHQEJALLRNEQ Adam Paris
  
  Its not hard to use the same design with other chipset. Look at the competition. Everyone does it.
- Anonymous
  
  I am sure win 8 tablets will be smoother & faster than a greased whippet. I am more concerned with battery life both in the metro overlay and after switching back to desktop mode. I travel extensively and a long battery life in an integrated battery is essential
Anonymous

Did Microsoft said that this will be an ARM-device? Because it would make more sense to hand out an Intel-powered slate.

Because after all it’s a developer conference and developers of current software would be left behind with an ARM developing platform. Those new HTML5 apps should work the same on x86 machines. And device driver developers may have already ARM-based pre-releases to work with.
- http://pulse.yahoo.com/_KTAHVKS2RNDWTQPHQEJALLRNEQ Adam Paris
  
  It doesnt make sense to give them an intel device.
  
  ARM is new for Windows and probably the only option for tablets (for a while until Intel arrives with a real alternative). So devs need to learn how to program efficiently and make sure they know how to use the power of ARM.
  
  Current devs already know how to program for x86, so giving them an x86 tablet would be stupid.
- Guest
  
  Agree with Adam. Those developers already have x86 machines. What they may not have because it’s new are ARM ones.
  
  Also, Intel tablets are going to compete well on price vs iPad. Not unless Intel drops their prices dramatically. There’s a reason MS finally embraced ARM after resisting it for so long. The writing is on the wall. There’s going to be an explosion of mobile devices, many of which are going to be very inexpensive tablets. The person best positioned to win there is ARM, not Intel.
- Guest
  
  are > aren’t
- Anonymous
  
  Yes this is all true. But what we know now (and that is not much) is that HTML5/JavaScript and .Net/Silverlight might be the only environments for developers on ARM Windows. And developing for them should be identical on any platform. That’s the whole point of those technologies after all.
  
  But yeah, we have to see…
- Guest
  
  Identical, except that many developers don’t have a touchscreen yet, unless it’s an iOS device. So giving them an ARM-based tablet would provide that.
Doroudi

it is Fujitsu devise look here:
http://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-shows-off-quad-core-windows-8-slate-device-giving-out-devices-soon

in last picture Fujitsu logo is observable
- Jemm
  
  From the original page (photo origin): ”Only first two photos are of the said Quad Core slate…”
  
  So that is a different slate.
- Brent
  
  yeah, that second photo is the same device. the Fujitsu device is already commercially available. Its a sexy Windows 7 device. atom processor and 8hrs of battery life.
- Brent
  
  er… mean “isn’t the same device”
Wourelia

BBC made an documentary about BIll Gates/Microsoft…
You can watch it here:
http://www.letmewatchthis.ch/watch-2727031-BBC-How-A-Geek-Changed-the-World-Bill-Gates
Use Putlocker or Sockshare for the best quality. (stream)
- Guest
  
  Yeah, the 90′s were great, weren’t they? MS hasn’t done anything interesting since.
- rsgx
  
  Wow, really?
- http://www.facebook.com/people/Alex-Senechal/100000135554016 Alex Senechal
  
  Hes just butthurt because someone threatens his $2500 dollar brand new and out of date mac pro
Anonymous

am confused.. shouldn’t they be looking at giving out an ARM powered device?
- http://pulse.yahoo.com/_KTAHVKS2RNDWTQPHQEJALLRNEQ Adam Paris
  
  Nobody said it will be an x86 device. The chassis is simlar, but the chipset will be different.
http://twitter.com/alanburchill Alan Burchill

I found a better comparison of the two devices from another photo…. Clearly they are similar devices. http://www.smartergeek.info/2011/09/samsung-series-7-dual-core-slate-that-looks-very-familiar/
Guest

Too many buttons guarantees It’ll fail! HAHAHAHA. Exhaust grills?? SD Cards?? PLEASE! BWAHAHAHAHAHA. Pathetic, really that Microsoft can’t build a proper tablet. Betchya that thing could heat my whole house for the Winter. Maybe I should buy one and throw it in the fireplace. Then curl up with my iPad. Hahaha.
- http://twitter.com/samitermanini Sami Termanini
  
  I love itroll storys
- Ray Stevens
  
  Sound the alarm, troll alert!
- Guest
  
  The only ones trolling here are the Microshills who can’t figure out that they should be buying iPads! I give Winblows 8 tablets one week on the market before Microsux throws them in the trash with the Kin. HAHAHAHAHA!
- Guest
  
  Okay, Dad wants his PC back now.
- Guest
  
  Dad doesn’t have a PC. I bought him an iPad after I grew tired of fixing his Winblows 7. No more viruses for him! HAHAHAHA!
- Guest
  
  他妈的关闭
- Guest
  
  Dad doesn’t have a PC. I bought him an iPad after I grew tired of fixing his Winblows 7. No more viruses for him! HAHAHAHA!
- rsgx
  
  Yeah, I’ve tried iPads – nothing more than a glorified toy.
  
  The best tablets out there right now, sure, but nothing more than a toy.
- Anonymous
  
  lousy troll.
- Anonymous
  
  lousy troll.
- Bradley
  
  Yeah, because who would want an SD slot in their tablet? Or a USB or an HDMI…
  
  I love my iPad, I am writing this post on one – but I cannot wait to get around the apple garden wall and use this new device.
  
  From the posts I have read Microsoft is going to finally be setting some hardware manufacturing standards for device. I would also like to see them produce their own hardware.
  
  Bring on the Build conference – I want to see more!
- Guest
  
  MS doesn’t build tablets, wingnut.
- Omar Diaz
  
  What you’ve just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in
  your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a
  rational thought. Everyone in this site is now dumber for having to read your post. I award you no
  points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
Anonymous

All I hear is M$ giving away this, giving away that, but how come I get none…
- http://pulse.yahoo.com/_KTAHVKS2RNDWTQPHQEJALLRNEQ Adam Paris
  
  Does anybody got anything? No, so stop ranting.
- Anonymous
  
  Are you seriously that stupid…?!