ASUS Eee Pad Transformer 2 May Run Windows 8

ASUS will be using an x86 processor from Intel or AMD’s ranges for the Windows 8 tablet or using Windows on ARM and picking something like a next-gen Tegra chip such as Kal-El and Android version of the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer 2 will be cheaper than its Windows 8 counterpart, but the grown up Microsoft OS will allow for more complex document creation and editing. While the Android version would cost the same as the existing one, the Windows model will carry a premium due partly to the cost of the operating system and  it appears that both the Android and Windows 8 models are on track for a release at some point in 2012.

Asus Eee Pad Transformer is a slate-style tablet with an optional keyboard docking station which sort of transforms the device into a laptop and the dock also has a separate battery which nearly doubles the run time. Currently the Eee Pad Transformer is designed to run Google Android 3.x Honeycomb, but now Eee Pad Transformer rumored to run on Windows 8. That certainly makes sense since the new tablet won’t go into production until later on in 2012 when Windows 8 is expected to launch. Like the original Eee Pad Transformer, its successor will feature an optional keyboard dock with built-in battery for extended mobile use. Windows 8 itself will offer a much more tablet-friendly UX than Windows 7 currently provides, but the keyboard dock will still come in handy for those times when an on-screen keyboard just doesn’t quite cut the mustard. Actual hardware specs for the Transformer 2 will likely not be known until much closer to its release, though Asus could certainly be testing Windows 8 on the current Transformer’s ARM internals. Its dual-core, 1Ghz Tegra processor and 1GB RAM should provide sufficient horsepower, at least for basic testing at this stage of the game. ASUS currently starts the Honeycomb Transformer at $399 for the tablet alone and they charge $149 for the docking station and Microsoft isn’t scheduled to release Windows 8 until sometime in 2012.

 

Microsoft Took $5 For Every HTC Android Phone

Microsoft may be spending enormous amount of money and development effort on Windows Phone 7, but for now, it’s making more money off of Android than it is from Windows Phone 7 and Microsoft gets five times as much money from Android than it does from Windows Phone 7, because of a settlement in an intellectual property infringement case against HTC. The terms of the settlement call for HTC to pay $5 to Microsoft for every Android device HTC sells and HTC has sold 30 million Android smartphones, and so Microsoft has taken in $150 million so far as a result of the suit.

Microsoft makes more money from Android’s success than they do the success of their own platform. A lot more. You had to guess that in a world of an ineffective patent system, someone somewhere would try to bank off of Android’s fast-growing success. Microsoft gets at least $5 for the sale of every HTC phone due to patent infringement settlements that were agreed upon in courts. Doing some quick math, one analyst took the amount of Android devices he estimates HTC’s sold to date – 30 million – and came up with $150 million. He did the same with Microsoft, taking their 2 million units sold to date and multiplying that by $15, the cost for OEMs to use Windows Phone 7. That came out to be just $30 million. And that’s just HTC alone.Microsoft is looking to get the same break from other Android manufacturers to get anywhere between $7.50 and $12.50 per license. It’s amazing and does well to exploit the problems with today’s patent system. All you need to do is stake your claim to fame on a certain technology and wait until someone hits homerun on it.

 The report by Horace Dediu at Asymco says the money is part of a patent settlement:

Microsoft gets $5 for every HTC phone running Android, according to Citi analyst Walter Pritchard, who released a big report on Microsoft this morning.

Microsoft is getting that money thanks to a patent settlement with HTC over intellectual property infringement.

Microsoft is suing other Android phone makers, and it’s looking for $7.50 to $12.50 per device, says Pritchard.

Florian Mueller, who tracks patents and other intellectual property issues at his FOSS Patents blog, provides more details via Twitter:

It wasn’t even a settlement: there was never a formal suit to settle. It was a license deal prior to any litigation.

Have other handset makers signed similar deals?

It’s possible that many have without announcing. HTC is the only specific announcement of its kind. Plus there are broad cross-license agreements they announced with LG, Samsung etc. Those may or may not include Android now.

When Microsoft sits down at the bargaining table with handset makers, this is definitely part of the pitch.