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Toshiba shows off first Windows 8 prototypes: convertibles, sliders, and tablets

Toshiba shows off first Windows 8 prototypes: convertibles, sliders, and tablets

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Amidst a series of other announcements, Toshiba laid out some of its initial plans for Windows 8 devices.

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Toshiba Windows 8 devices
Toshiba Windows 8 devices

Toshiba announced a handful of new Windows 7 devices today at Computex, but the company's also ready to talk Windows 8. We got a chance to see some of the initial hardware prototypes designed to run Microsoft's next OS — reps told us Toshiba is an incredibly close launch partner for Windows 8 — and it looks like manufacturers are really starting to think about different ways Windows 8 can be used.

Toshiba didn't reveal a lot of details, but reps showed us very early models of three devices. We saw a Transformer Pad-like tablet / keyboard dock combination, a popular style so far at Computex that promises to be one of the most useful ways to run Windows 8, which is being heavily promoted as useful for both touch and non-touch input. Toshiba's also working on a slider PC, which lies flat and functions as a tablet or slides backward and upward to be used as a regular laptop — it looks just like the new MSI Slider S20. We were most intrigued by the prototype Windows RT laptop, though — details and timelines for Windows RT have been scarce, but clearly Toshiba expects it to take relatively normal, laptop-like form factors. Toshiba's working with both Intel and Texas Instruments on the devices, and it looks like there will be a TI processor inside at least the Windows RT ultrabook.

Toshiba's Windows 8 plans fall right in line with what other manufacturers have been showing off and talking about at Computex, and between Toshiba, Samsung, Lenovo, and others, it's starting to become clear what the early Windows 8 market is going to look like.

Toshiba Windows 8 prototype devices pictures

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