CES 2012: Samsung tablet + Kinect + motorized skateboard = wear a helmet

Move over Segway, and make room on the road for the Board of Awesomeness.

Chaotic Moon Labs' Kinect-controlled motorized skateboard zoomed through the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, showcasing a quirky mashup of technologies -- one that hopefully won't end with the rider getting a mashed-up head.

By attaching a Samsung tablet to the Kinect, the Austin, Texas-based software laboratory set out to "make Kinect do everything it's not supposed to do," which includes helping accelerate a skateboard and its rider to 32 mph.

VIDEOS: 2012 Consumer Electronics Show

It did it by creating an electric skateboard with the Kinect as a built-in gesture sensor, so the rider can accelerate by pushing his hands forward, and slow down by pulling them back  -- a little bit like skateboarding with an invisible steering wheel.

The board has giant all-terrain tires, as well as an 800-watt electric motor, so you could probably skateboard up San Francisco's Lombard Street if you needed to. (Note to readers: Don't.)

The brain of the conveyance is a Samsung tablet powered by the new Windows 8 operating system, which you better hope doesn't crash -- because if it does ...

RELATED:

4k TV sets make their debut, minus the hoopla

Samsung TVs add gesture, voice control; Sharp previews 8K

Ava robot, controlled by iPad, Kinect, roams CES with ease [Video]

-- David Sarno in Las Vegas

Microsoft offers sneak peek at Windows 8's Store for apps [Video]

Microsoft has released new details on its Windows Store for Windows 8 -- no it's not called App Store a la Apple -- which will be its online storefront selling applications to run on Windows 8 laptops, desktops and tablets.

The Windows Store will sell "Metro-style" apps. Microsoft Metro is the design language of flat, actively updating "live tile" icons for apps that debuted last year on the Windows Phone 7 operating system, and is making its way over to the Xbox 360 video game system this week in a software update.

Most Windows 8 Metro apps available in the Windows Store should adhere to touch, stylus or keyboard and mouse input, since they'll have to run on traditional PCs and tablets as well.

Microsoft will also have a tiered system of what its cut of an apps revenue will be. Apple famously takes a 30% cut of revenue for all apps sold in its iOS App Store (for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch) and Mac App Store (for Mac computers).

Microsoft will take a similar 30% share of revenue for each app sold in its Windows Store, but once an app passes $25,000 in total revenue, the tech giant will drop its share down to 20% for the remainder of time that the app is sold, the company said in a statement.

To access the new Windows Store, the masses will have to wait until Windows 8 officially launches sometime next year. But developers will be able to access the Windows Store, in a beta release, if they've installed the Windows 8 Developer Preview version of the new OS, which is a free download available to all.

Microsoft is now taking Windows 8 app submissions and has launched a "First Apps Contest," which the tech giant will use to choose the first eight apps available in the Windows Store when it officially opens.

The new Windows Store isn't the first time that Microsoft is taking a stab at replicating the success Apple has had with its App Stores. The much-maligned Windows Vista had an app store called the Windows Marketplace, though both the operating system and the Marketplace never found much popularity.

Still, Windows is the most widely used PC operating system in the world. Microsoft says it has sold more than 500 million Windows 7 licenses worldwide to date and the company is hoping that Windows 8 will continue dominating PCs as well as give the company a significant stake in the growing tablet market that it lacks.

Microsoft also said that the Windows Store will launch globally in 231 markets and more than 100 languages, with the ability to accept payments in 58 currencies.

Follow the jump to see screen shots of the Windows Store in action.

Kinect is coming to Windows, but are TVs next?

We've known for months that Microsoft's Kinect motion-sensing camera technology would make its way to Windows. But now we also know that Kinect on Windows won't use the same hardware as Kinect for the Xbox 360 video game system.

"Since announcing a few weeks ago that the Kinect for Windows commercial program will launch in early 2012, we've been asked whether there will also be new Kinect hardware especially for Windows," Craig Eisler, the general manager of the Kinect for Windows team, wrote in a company blog post. "The answer is yes; building on the existing Kinect for Xbox 360 device, we have optimized certain hardware components and made firmware adjustments which better enable PC-centric scenarios."

Kinect for Windows will also get its own Software Development Kit to make use of the PC-specific hardware that will deliver features and capabilities unique to the stalwart operating system, Eisler said.

So how will the Kinect for Windows differ from the Xbox hardware?

"Simple changes include shortening the USB cable to ensure reliability across a broad range of computers and the inclusion of a small dongle to improve coexistence with other USB peripherals," he said. "Of particular interest to developers will be the new firmware which enables the depth camera to see objects as close as 50 centimeters in front of the device without losing accuracy or precision, with graceful degradation down to 40 centimeters."

With the new hardware being able to see people at a closer range, Kinect for Windows will be able to be used in a wider range of environments than the Kinect for Xbox, which was designed for living rooms with wide open spaces for people to jump and move around to play games without a controller.

This so-called Near Mode was "one of the most requested features from the many developers and companies participating in our Kinect for Windows pilot program and folks commenting on our forums, and we're pleased to deliver this, and more, at launch," Eisler said.

As to when Kinect for Windows will arrive in stores, Microsoft hasn't said just yet. The current Kinect for Windows SDK is built for Windows 7, but Windows 8 is set for release sometime next year.

But it seems that the company's ambition for Kinect might extend beyond the Xbox and PCs and into TVs, according to the News Corp.-owned digital magazine, the Daily.

"Sources familiar with the subject told the Daily that the tech giant wants to aggressively push the Kinect into as many living rooms as possible, even those without its Xbox 360 gaming systems," wrote Matt Hickey, a reporter for the Daily. "Microsoft is said to be in the early stages of licensing its Kinect technology to television hardware manufacturers like Vizio and Sony."

If Microsoft were to add its motion-sensing Kinect technology into TV sets, using gestures to control the TV rather than a remote, it would place the firm in competition with Google TV and Apple's rumored eventual entry into the TV market.

If this all plays out, our living rooms and our office spaces will probably get a lot more interesting (with a lot more waving hands and arms to be seen) in the next couple of years.

RELATED:

Microsoft releases Kinect for Windows SDK

Samsung says it's close to deal to make Google-ready TV set

Kinect sells more than 10 million units, scores Guinness World Records nod

-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

Twitter.com/nateog

Photo: Children try out a video game that uses Microsoft's Kinect for Xbox 360 motion-sensing camera at a media event Oct. 18, 2011 in New York. Credit: Jason DeCrow / Associated Press Images for Microsoft

Nokia plans Windows 8 tablet for June 2012, report says [Video]

It seems Nokia and Microsoft's multi-billion dollar relationship will encompass not just smartphones, but Windows 8 tablets as well.

Paul Amsellem, the head of Nokia France, told the French newspaper Les Echos in a Wednesday article that the Finnish phone maker is planning to launch a tablet running the next Windows operating system as early as next summer.

"In June 2012, we will have a tablet that runs on Windows 8," Amsellem told the newspaper, according to a translation of the article.

Amsellem didn't offer Les Echos details on a Nokia Windows 8 tablet beyond that, but I did take a look at Windows 8 back in September running on an HP prototype slate and the new operating system, which will run on both tablets and desktop PCs, brought over a touch interface very similar to the Windows Phone software.

Amsellem also told Les Echos that Nokia is planning to expand its lineup of Windows Phone handsets, which currently consists of the Lumia 710 and Lumia 800. Both of those phones are available outside of the U.S. already and will hit America sometime in 2012.

The Nokia executive said that higher end Lumia phones were planned in the company's Windows Phone expansion.

"It's a bit the equivalent of the BMW 5 Series," Amsellem said in the interview, comparing the Lumia 800 to BMW's midsize sedan. "We will soon have a full range with a 7 Series and 3 Series."

The 3 Series is BMW's line of smaller compact cars, while the 7 Series is the largest, most luxurious and most expensive sedan the German automaker offers. Given the analogy, Nokia could offer a three phone lineup, with varying features, specs and price across the range.

Officials at Nokia were unavailable for comment on the Les Echos report on Wednesday.

But, for now, feel free to take another look at Windows 8 as seen in our "hands-on" video with a prototype HP tablet after the operating system made its debut.

RELATED:

Nokia's first Windows Phones: the Lumia 710, Lumia 800

Windows 8: A first look at Microsoft's new operating system [Video]

Windows Phone Mango review: Much improved, no 'killer app' yet [Video]

-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

twitter.com/nateog

Photo: A developer build of Microsoft Windows 8 running on a Samsung-built developer preview tablet. Credit: Armand Emamdjomeh / Los Angeles Times

HP will make Windows 8 tablets, no WebOS plans yet

Hewlett-Packard announced Thursday that it has decided to keep its PC business, which is the world's largest, after considering a spinoff of its "personal services group." 

Such as separation was first proposed in August by HP's then-Chief Executive Leo Apotheker, who was ousted in September in favor of former EBay CEO Meg Whitman. Whitman and HP have decided to stick with PCs.

But what about tablets? And what about HP's WebOS operating system, which also went under a strategic review in August? 

Whitman addressed those questions in a call with analysts Thursday after breaking the news that HP PCs were here to stay, saying that HP would build tablets running Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 operating system.

Windows 8, as the Technology blog has reported, will run on PCs as well as tablets.

"We're at the beginning stages of a new segment in personal computing," Whitman said of tablets in the call. She also said that she doesn’t believe it’s too late for HP to succeed in the tablet market and that “the work we do with Microsoft is extraordinary compelling."

Whitman said in the call that HP's Windows 8 tablets would launch sometime next year and that the company would be narrowing its focus to help the company succeed not just next year, but also in 2013, 2014 and the future.

"One of my observations is that HP tries to do a lot of things," she said. "And I am big believer in doing a small number of things really, really well -- set them up, knock them down, set them up, knock them down."

However, Whitman said, HP won't be announcing any of those plans or new products before the end of November, when its next earnings report will come out.

Todd Bradley, executive vice president of HP's personal systems group, said HP has never considered giving up on tablets or wavering from producing Windows tablets.

HP has in fact already produced a Windows tablet -- the Slate 500, which sold exclusively to businesses for $800 upon launch. HP's only consumer tablet to date was the HP TouchPad, which ran WebOS and was killed off in August under Apotheker's reign.

After announcing the TouchPad would be discontinued, HP marked it down to $99, and the tablet sold out in stores across the U.S. and Canada.

As for WebOS' future, well HP is still figuring that out, Bradley said.

"We are continuing to focus on Microsoft-based tablet that we have and one that will develop on Windows based," he said. "I think from a WebOS perspective that's kind of the next piece of work to complete.... The whole team of Meg, Cathie [Lesjak], myself, John Visentin are working very, very hard and as quickly as we can to make the right decisions about that product."

One thing HP isn't still trying to figure out is how important tablets are to its future, Bradley said.

"I think we need to be in the tablet business," he said. "And we are certainly going to be there with Windows 8, and so we are going to be make another run at this business.... We're going to make a decisions about the long-term future of WebOS within HP over the next couple of months.

"And as soon as we make that decision we will let you know on that. Because many people have said to me, 'Well, isn't the WebOS decision just completely tied to [personal services group]?' The answer to that is actually no. WebOS has obviously used in the PSG business, but also in other businesses that we have. So it's actually -- we have to make a more holistic decision around WebOS."

RELATED:

Hewlett-Packard staying in the PC business

HP to kill TouchPad and stop making WebOS devices, may spin off PC business

Windows 8: A first look at Microsoft's new operating system [Video]

-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

twitter.com/nateog

Photo: An HP TouchPad on display at a Best Buy store in East Palo Alto, Calif. Credit: David Paul Morris / Bloomberg

Microsoft: Zune hardware dead, apps still alive

Microsoft's Zune was never much of a contender against Apple's iPod as far as portable music players go, and now, finally, the Zune hardware is dead.

However, the Zune brand and the music-buying service associated with that name isn't going anywhere, according to a statement posted to Microsoft's Zune.net:

We recently announced that, going forward, Windows Phone will be the focus of our mobile music and video strategy, and that we will no longer be producing Zune players. So what does this mean for our current Zune users? Absolutely nothing. Your device will continue to work with Zune services just as it does today. And we will continue to honor the warranties of all devices for both current owners and those who buy our very last devices. Customer service has been, and will remain a top priority for us.

So there you have it. The Zune as hardware is finito, but the Zune lives on as an app, as a place to buy and consume music in Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system.

Not mentioned in Microsoft's blurb -- the Zune on the Xbox home gaming console. Currently, the Zune is the Xbox 360's music-buying and -listening app.

The move to end production of Zune hardware was a long time coming as Microsoft hadn't updated its Zune player line since the release of the Zune HD in September 2009.

In March, reports began swirling that the Zune hardware was getting the ax, but at that time Microsoft neither confirmed nor denied the rumors.

But don't feel too sad for Bill Gates' iPod fighter. The Zune's influence on Microsoft has been a major one as the tech giant used the player's touchscreen software as an inspiration when it rebooted its mobile efforts with Windows Phone 7 last year.

Windows Phone 7 has, in turn, influenced the development of Windows 8 (for desktops, laptops and tablets) and even the ever-changing user interface of the Xbox 360. And so, the Zune can be given a bit of credit for contributing to the direction of the three of the company's most important products -- Windows, Windows Phone and Xbox.

RELATED:

Windows 8 detailed at Microsoft's Build event

Windows 8: A first look at Microsoft's new operating system [Video]

Microsoft reportedly axing its Zune music and video players; Zune software to live on

-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

Twitter.com/nateog

Upper photo: Some of Microsofts original Zune portable music player devices, released in 2006. Credit: Microsoft / AFP/Getty Images

Lower photo: Microsoft's Zune HD, released in 2009. Credit: Microsoft

Microsoft says, again, that Xbox Live is coming to Windows 8

Microsoft is bringing Xbox Live, its blockbuster online gaming and entertainment service, to Windows 8.

Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb, an Xbox spokesman, confirmed the addition of Xbox Live to the in-development Windows 8 operating system, which will run on PCs and tablets, in a blog post on Wednesday.

"We are confirming that we will be bringing Xbox LIVE to the PC with Xbox LIVE on Windows," Hyrb wrote. "Bringing Xbox LIVE to Windows 8 is part of our vision to bring you all the entertainment you want, shared with the people you care about, made easy."

Hryb's announcement, however, isn't the first time that Microsoft has said Xbox Live will be included in Windows 8. Mike Delman, Microsoft's vice president of global marketing at its interactive entertainment unit, confirmed the team of two of the company's most successful products in June at the E3 video game expo in Los Angeles, in an interview with the Seattle Times.

This week, at Microsoft's Build developers conference in Anaheim, Microsoft gave away tablets loaded with an early version of Windows to attendees. The tech giant followed that up with a public release of the pre-beta OS -- but in both versions, while some prototype games were included, an Xbox Live app was not.

Hryb said that more details would come down the road, as Windows 8's development continues.

Delman had more details back in June. He said: "Live will be built into the PC. It will be the service where you get your entertainment" such as games, movies and music across the Xbox home gaming console, Windows tablets and Windows PCs.

RELATED:

Microsoft shows off Windows 8 at Build conference

Windows 8 Developer Preview available as free download

Windows 8: A first look at Microsoft's new operating system [Video]

-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

Twitter.com/nateog

Image: A screenshot of Xbox Live running on Windows 8. Credit: Larry Hryb / Microsoft Corp.

Windows 8 Developer Preview available as free download

Microsoft has released its Windows 8 Developer Preview operating system, for PCs and tablets, to the public as a free download.

This is the same software which Microsoft gave to developers on prototype Samsung tablets this week at the company's Build conference in Anaheim.

And while this pre-beta version of Windows 8 is not close to ready for consumer consumption, and meant to be used by developers who are looking to make apps for the desktop and tablet OS, anyone can download the software -- no developer registration or anything like that needed.

The move to release Windows 8 so early on can be seen as a testament to just how much Microsoft wants, and needs, developers to get into building apps for the new OS before it is actually released as a retail product that will compete on tablets against Apple's iPad (running iOS) and Google's Android software.

Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive, made a surprise appearance at Build on Wednesday and touted 500,000 downloads of Windows 8 overnight as a testament to developer interest in the new platform, according the tech blog This Is My Next.

Microsoft has made available three different versions of Windows 8 for download (two versions built for 64-bit systems which use new processors and can make use of more RAM, versus older 32-bit PCs that use earlier chips and less memory), which all show up as an ISO file when downloaded.

The three versions also vary in size and as an ISO file will need to be downloaded and burned to a DVD or installed on a bootable USB drive before being installed (Microsoft, of course recommends using Windows Disc Image Burner on Windows 7 to get the ISO file onto a DVD).

The three versions, all in English, are:

• Windows Developer Preview with developer tools, 64-bit:  A 4.8-gigabyte download, this version includes Windows 8 Developer Preview operating system with a Windows software developer kit for Metro style apps made up of Microsoft Visual Studio 11 Express and Microsoft Expression Blend 5, as well as 28 preview apps.

• Windows Developer Preview, 64-bit: A 3.6-gigbyte download, this version is made up of just the Windows 8 Developer Preview OS and the 28 preview apps -- no added developer tools

• Windows Developer Preview English, 32-bit: The smallest of the bunch, this 2.8-gigabyte download includes the Windows 8 Developer Preview OS and the 28 preview apps.

Since this is a preview version of Windows 8, it still has plenty of bugs that need to be fixed. This isn't yet even a beta release and not polished enough for the mass market. So if you're interested in downloading this early release, it might be a good idea to install it on a spare PC rather than your main computer. If you only have one computer, do consider the risk here.

Microsoft has said that all Windows 7 apps should work in Windows 8 on desktops and laptops, but there are no guarantees that will hold true at this point given the OS is in development.

RELATED:

Microsoft shows off Windows 8 at Build conference

Microsoft previews Windows 8 for both tablets and PCs

Windows 8: A first look at Microsoft's new operating system [Video]

-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

Twitter.com/nateog

Photo: Microsoft Windows President Steven Sinofsky introduces a new tablet, running a test version of its touch-enabled Windows 8, at the Build conference in Anaheim on Tuesday. Credit: Alex Gallardo/Reuters

Windows 8: A first look at Microsoft's new operating system [Video]

Microsoft gave away a Windows 8 tablet to every paid attendee at its Build conference in Anaheim on Tuesday morning, beginning in earnest its push to sell developers on the new operating system.

The tablets aren't lightweight, in terms of heft (almost two pounds) or performance. Microsoft called the tablets Windows 8 Developer Preview. Built by Samsung, the tablet is a modified version of the Korean electronics maker's Series 7 tablet, which in that version runs Windows 7 with a touch-enabled skin over the top.

The Windows 8 Developer Preview tablet is packed with a 1.6GHz Intel Core i5 processor, an 11.6-inch screen with 1366 x 768 resolution, front and rear cameras (but no photo taking app as of yet), an HDMI port for connecting to extra monitors, a USB port, a microSD slot and a SIM-card slot.

Samsung and Microsoft also gave developers a charging dock with USB, HDMI and Ethernet ports, a Bluetooth keyboard (which looks a lot like an Apple keyboard) and a stylus pen that works with the prototype device. A mouse can be used with the Windows 8 tablet as well.

AT&T is supplying a year of 3G service for the tablets at no charge to Build attendees, with a cap of 2 gigabytes of data per month. The tablet also can use Wi-Fi connections.

But the part that matters most here isn't so much the specs of the preview device as it is the operating system.

Microsoft handed out loaner tablets to journalists such as myself Monday at a press-only Build presentation on Windows 8 (the tablets are due back Thursday). Check out the video below for a quick look at the Windows 8 Developer Preview tablet and Windows 8 in action.

RELATED:

Windows 8 detailed at Microsoft's Build event

Microsoft's Windows 8 to have Xbox Live built in

Microsoft details Windows 8 for both tablets and PCs

-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

Twitter.com/nateog

Photo: A developer build of Microsoft Windows 8 running on a Samsung-built developer preview tablet. Credit: Armand Emamdjomeh/Los Angeles Times

Windows 8 for tablet and PC detailed at Microsoft’s Build event

Microsoft's Windows operating system, which long ago won the war over desktop computers, didn't even show up in the fight to be the dominant tablet OS.

Windows 8, the software behemoth hopes, will change that.

At the company's Build conference Tuesday in Anaheim, Steven Sinofsky, president of Microsoft's Windows team, offered an in-depth look at the next version of the omnipresent software.

Windows 8 is important not only because Microsoft hopes to use it to extend Windows' desktop dominance over Apple's Mac OS X, but also because Windows 8 will be the company's weapon to finally get into the tablet fight and take on Apple's iPad.

The Build conference is about getting developers on board as much as a year early to get familiar with Windows 8 and to start writing apps for the new OS now. The idea is that when Windows 8 finally launches, its app store won't look empty, as was the case for tablet-app offerings from Hewlett-Packard and Research In Motion. Even Google's Android Market, which has hundreds of tablet-optimized apps, pales in comparison to Apple's thousands of tablet apps.

In a closed-door presentation to reporters Monday, a day before Build officially opened, Sinofsky and other Microsoft executives detailed the elements of Windows 8.

The presentation, which I attended, ended with Microsoft lending tablets running Windows 8 to each reporter for a few days.

Video: hands-on with the Windows 8 tablet

I wanted to affectionately call this 'not an iPad,' " Sinofsky said of the prototypes. "I'm also calling this not the first Windows 8 computer and not for sale."

Although Windows 8 will compete with the iPad, it takes a much different path. As Microsoft has been telling the world for months, in bits of information about the new OS, Windows 8 reject the app icon look of iOS and Android for its own "Metro style" of live tiles seen on Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 OS.

"We have a different point of view on how touch works and we have a different point of view on how apps work and it's been deeply thought out," said Jensen Harris, the director of program management for Windows.

For one thing, Windows 8 on a tablet isn't limited to a touchscreen. It works with a mouse, a keyboard and a stylus as well as your fingertips. The test tablets, handed out by Microsoft, are quick and responsive and offer true PC-like specs in a tablet body.

Windows 8 will run traditional desktop apps that will be better suited for a mouse, such as Adobe Photoshop, and touch-centric apps, a few of which were previewed Monday and which Microsoft hopes will inspire developers this week at Build.

Apps, of course, will be the key to making Windows 8 a success on tablets.

Since the iPad hit the market, Apple has sold more than 25 million of the blockbuster devices. Google's Android operating system is Apple's only serious competitor in the tablet space but hasn't been able to slow the iPad's growth much thus far.

Windows 7, released in 2009, has sold nearly 450 million copies thus far and as of last Thursday, is more widely used than the stalwart Windows XP, Sinofsky said.

On PCs, Windows 8 will run all Windows 7 applications, according to the company. But Windows 7 applications may not run on Windows 8 tablets built with ARM processors.

"All the existing desktop apps will continue to run in the desktop environment," said Julie Larson-Green, a Windows corporate vice president. "Metro apps will be a separate thing" and run on all Windows 8 machines -- tablets and PCs.

Monday's presentation offered a look at about 30 apps running on Windows 8 test tablets and on PCs. All of the apps were "written in 10 weeks by teams of two or three college interns," Sinofsky said. "That kind of gives you the idea of the power of the platform."

RELATED:

Microsoft's Windows 8 to have Xbox Live built in

Microsoft details Windows 8 for both tablets and PCs

Microsoft-branded Windows 8 tablet reportedly under consideration

-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

Twitter.com/nateog

Images: Screen shots showing, from top, the Windows 8 start screen, the operating system's lock screen, and Microsoft Visual Studio, an app developers use to write other apps, running in Windows 8's desktop environment. Credit: Microsoft