Microsoft Aims to Beat iPad's Battery Life With New ARM Tablets

From DailyTech: Windows RT -- the branded name for Windows on ARM architecture chips -- is bad news for some Windows enthusiasts. The critical release marks the first major personal computer Windows release in which Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) has turned away from a direct-sales model, and thus in a sense marks the first time Microsoft has killed users' ability to "tinker" with their system and install their own operating system.

Writes Microsoft VP Mike Aguilo in the Building Windows blog, "PC makers will provide Windows RT PCs as integrated, end-to-end products that include hardware, firmware, and Windows RT software. Windows RT software will not be sold or distributed independent of a new Windows RT PC, just as you would expect from a consumer electronics device that relies on unique and integrated pairings of hardware and software."

In other words, your Windows laptop or tablet is about to become more like a smartphone, and less like a custom-built piece of hardware -- well, if you buy a Windows RT device, at least. No longer will you be able to buy and install the operating system yourself -- your device maker will do that for you.

But for most consumers that should be a good thing. Among the benefits of its new tightly-integrated approach, Microsoft is claiming to offer up to 13 hours of HD video playback (at 60 frames per second) with a 42 watt-hour battery powering a Windows RT notebook and 10.1" screen.

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