Some of headlines this morning are revolving around the possibility of Microsoft planning to announce a ARM based Windows tablet.
According to Bloomberg news, this new ARM powered tablet will be running a version of its Windows operating system. Word is that Microsoft is planning to announce this at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show (CES). 
We all know that Microsoft and all of their Windows operating systems have always be designed to run strictly on x86 based chips It’s always been one thing that the Redmond based company has lived by, so its pretty big deal for Microsoft to open up their arms to ARM architecture.
Opening up ARM support could do wonders for Microsoft. It could mean that we could see a whole new line of portable devices including more netbooks and obviously tablets. ARM devices are known to be power efficient and very cost affective, compared to the x86 based devices. The reports say that Microsoft is designing the new operating system to run on devices that are powered by batteries.
We do have some conflicting reports though. The Wall Street Journal went on the record today to say that this new Windows for tablets OS is more than 2 years away. That’s an awful long ways away, so what we could be seeing is the new Windows 8. It’s been rumored for sometime now that Microsoft is planning to demoing Windows 8 at CES 2011. Whatever ends up happening, it should be something that we all can get excited about, that’s for sure 🙂
On the other end of the spectrum, we are hearing that HP and their recently acquired Palm division, will be showing off three new PalmPad tablet devices at CES 2011. These new tablet devices will be running the underrated and under appreciated webOS 2.5.1. But this is where the good news stops, it’s rumored that these new PalmPads are simply just a re-purposed and re-branded HP Slate.
It’s funny cause at the start of the year it was thought that the HP Slate would be both a successful Windows tablet, and a true iPad killer. So far it has been complete failure. So this new PalmPad could be doomed before it’s even available to purchase.
Fox News, who broke the story, have gotten their hands on the diagram that seems to show the device that looks identical to the Slate. But they are reporting that the new Palm tablets could have some new features and new hardware. Some of which include USB 3.0 ports, possible multi-format card reader and a mini-HDMI port, as well front and rear-facing cameras.
So far with all the news surrounding CES 2011 is all tablet related, which isn’t a bad thing at all. With the unveiling of the new Motorola tablet and all of today’s news, 2011 might again be the year of the tablet.
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