Build 2013 devices: waiting for manufacturers

At Build 2013 we haven't had any big new device introductions, which might be disappointing to some, but the truth is that the existing product range is Windows 8.1 ready it's already huge in itself Of course there is room for improvement with new sizes, formats and ideas yet to be explored, but this has only just begun. It is not worth getting impatient and it is better to take a look at the products shown in Build. Of course, nobody expects great news.

All of those teams, many of which were sitting on the stage at the day one keynote, provide a large initial offering to go along with the update.From ultrabooks to tablets, through convertibles, hybrids, all in one and other experiments in the form of gigantic computers with touch capabilities. Welcome to the Windows 8.1 hardware offer

Tablets

The culprits of all this. It can be said that the tablets are the main responsible for the madness for the touch that has been installed in the industry. Windows 8 was born prepared for them and with Windows 8.1 Microsoft only confirms it. Now with new screen sizes and formats

From Microsoft itself are the two tablets that define the Windows 8 experience: Surface RT and Surface Pro Well known to all and analyzed right here on Xataka Windows. This Build has not seen the expected renewal of the range that some rumors would have us believe, but they are still the reference tablets also with Windows 8.1.

Of the rest of the OEMs we continue to have well-known equipment that has been on the market for some time. While it is possible to think that they are preparing to put on the market renewed tablets and adapted to the new conditions of Windows 8.1. Acer with its 8.1-inch Iconia W3 has been the first to blaze a trail that others will soon follow.

Hybrids and Convertibles

Hybrids and convertibles are two types of products driven hard by Windows 8. Many of Microsoft's partners have seen in the system the ideal companion for computers capable of being a tablet or laptop depending on the situation. require. Windows 8.1 continues the trend, and although we haven't seen them yet, it wouldn't be surprising to see convertibles with screens smaller than 10 inches.

Meanwhile several are the OEMs that have brought their proposals for hybrids and convertibles to the market.A good part of them we have already reviewed during these months in Xataka Windows. Among the hybrids, which allow you to physically separate the keyboard and screen, there are few new features To the already classic teams from Asus, Samsung or Dell, another already present is added on the market for months, without any further noteworthy news at the moment.

For its part, among convertibles we continue to have Sony with its Vaio Duo 11, Toshiba with its Satellite U920t or Lenovo, one one of the most active in this field, with its IdeaPad Yoga and its 360 degree folding screens, or with the Thinkpad Twist that has a rotating axis to switch between one work mode or another. Others have joined them, such as Acer recently with the Aspire R7, a convertible computer that was also present in this Build 2013.

What Build leaves unanswered is whether, apart from those already known, we will see convertibles with sizes less than 10 inches taking advantage of the arrival of Windows 8.1. It is a possible field that has not yet been explored too much by manufacturers and some may dare in the coming months.

Ultrabooks

The most notorious absence of this Build are the traditional laptops Displaced in the market by tablets, the old laptop fits every time less oxygen to hold. But the grandfather already has a successor in the form of ultrabooks, which now seems to be starting to pick up a run thanks to Windows 8 and the impact of touch in our lives.

And if the ultrabooks available in Build share something, in addition to thinness and lightness, it is the fact that they all come with a built-in touch screenOEMs have joined the touch fever and it seems increasingly evident that Microsoft was right to prepare its system to work directly with the fingers.

At Build there was no lack of a good representation of the sector. Most of them are old, known as the Acer Aspire S family or the Asus Zenbook. But also newer ones such as Toshiba's KIRAbook, which since its launch has not stopped receiving good reviews from the media and users.

All in ones

If ultrabooks are the unsung children of the old laptop, all-in-ones are the direct descendants of our aging desktop personal computers. At some point, OEMs forgot why they separated CPU and Monitor and decided that what consumers wanted was equipment that integrated both in the same block.

The only thing missing was tactile to turn the all-in-one into the quintessential team in the living room. And there Windows 8 appeared, to finish completing the process of transition from the personal computer divided into two pieces to the complete equipment in the same casingOf course, with a mouse and keyboard still present, which will be greatly helped by some of the new features introduced by Windows 8.1.

It won't be because manufacturers don't try. At Build 2013 we've seen it all in one of the vast majority of Microsoft's traditional partners: Dell, HP, Acer, Lenovo and even Sony. But they are not the only ones, there were also smaller companies like MSI with their own all-in-one.

Devices with large screens

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With Microsoft proposing smaller screen sizes in Windows 8.1, manufacturers are going against it in the form of large touch devices that aren&39;t even all-in-one nor are they conventional computers With screens larger than 18 inches, these computers are still looking for their place in our daily lives and a name to define them: tablets?"

In Build at least they have made a hole. Here we have seen some of them, such as the Lenovo IdeaCentre Horizon with its peculiar control devices, or the Sony Vaio Tap 20 that could pass for one more all-in-one. But Dell has now joined them with its XPS 18, an 18.4-inch touch computer that allows you to work in many positions, especially if you have strong arms.

But at Build you can't talk about giant screens without mentioning Perceptive Pixel As in every Redmond event, the company Acquired by Microsoft, it brought back its 82-inch screen to make anyone who wanted to enjoy Windows 8 in all its splendor bite the bullet. I can't wait for the day we have one of these in our homes.

Nothing new for now

Old acquaintances and little to know. That's what we take away from Build in terms of devices.But despite everything, the feeling is not one of absolute disappointment. The road has just begun again with Windows 8.1 It is worth remembering that we are still facing its public test version.

There are months ahead for OEMs and traditional Microsoft partners to prepare a good wave of devices, which probably, or at least one hopes, will hit the market before the end of the year. Those from Redmond have already installed the system, now the ball is in the manufacturer's court