In the words of Jensen Harris (director of the Windows Experience) “Every screen needs to be touch. A Monitor without touch feels dead.” So it means that Windows 8 is designed for touchscreens (tablets, All In One PCs and convertible laptops). But today i am just going to discuss how the new OS might transform the Windows Tablet Experience.

• Metro UI and Apps – The Metro UI is obvious which Microsoft has preoccupied with tablets. The start screen comprises of groups of interactive tiles which is borrowed from Windows Phone 7 and Windows Media Center. The start screen scrolls horizontally very smoothly even on low powered ARM tablets. Now the tiles that you see here are not merely icons but are live widgets which deliver vital information without having to delve into the app itself. This means that the new app will scroll through the latest headlines, the flicker application will display thumbnail photo slideshow, live stocks, live whether, calander events, etc. The apps icons can be resized or repositioned according to application. If you are developer then you should know that Metro apps can be coded in C / C++ / C# but Microsoft appears to be nudging developers to work in HTML /CSS / Javascript bcoz the apps written in standard web languages will not need recompilation for ARM based devices. Now you might be exited to know that Metro apps are full screen with no taskbar and no close or minimize button. This means that if you want to kill the app you need to go to the task manager to kill the app. Also the apps are suspend by the OS when they are inactive. Now you can switch between the open apps by flicking your finger from the left hand side of the screen, just like turning the pages of a book. If the native resolution of your screen is 1366 X 768 or higher then you can run metro apps side by side where one app will be covering 75% of the screen and the other app will occupy a sliver on the left or right side.

• The Windows Store – Metro apps will be downloadable exclusively from the Windows Store which is Microsoft’s response to Apple App Store and Android Market. Its quite obvious that microsoft will offer both free and paid apps although no confirmation regarding the same has been made from the side of Microsoft. Also leaked documents suggest that MS plan to take the same 30% cut on apps sales that Apple and Google do. Unique store design will allow developers to offer free trials that will expire and wiped from the devices after a set number of days. MS also plans to list additional apps in Windows store alongside the new metro apps which will redirect the users to the vendors sites.

• Sharing and Syncing Apps – Metro apps will be synchronised all your windows 8 devices using the Windows Live account that’s linked to your user ID. This means that Metro apps are sold on user user basis rather per device but the nuber of devices will be limited. Also the synchronization will not only sync the app but also the data so that for example you can play the game on your tablet where you left it on your PC.

• Text Input – The software keyboard is good and comes with couple of smart innovations like auto complete. The on screen keyboard can be split into 2 allowing the users of larger tablets to tap away with their thumbs on either side of the screen. For the stylus users, handwriting recognition is also an option.

• Windows On ARM – The words of Windows Shief Steven Sinofsky “all apps for ARM are going to come through the store which meand they will be metro apps. ” suggest that Windows on ARM  could be pure tablet play designed to compete with iPad and android devices while intel based processors will be used for laptops, desktops and hybrids.

So guys, hope you enjoyed the article….Do post your comments and feedback…