While there's a lot of talk about touchscreen devices to show off Windows 8 to its best advantage, none is for sale yet built to Microsoft specifications. The company did hand out a limited run of a Samsung Windows 8 Developer Preview touchscreen PCs to key developers, but mere mortals can't buy one. However, here are some off-the-shelf devices that Microsoft says it uses in its labs to put Windows 8 through its paces.
HP Elitebook 2740p
Announced: March 2010
Processor: Intel Core i7 and Core i5
Memory: 8GB of DDR3 Disk: 320GB HDD or 160GB SSD
Display: 12.1-inch screen, 1,280 x 800 resolution
Also from HP in Microsoft's labs: HP TouchSmart_IQ526t, HP Compaq L2105TM, HP EliteBook 2740P, HP Mini 5102, HP Pavilion_tx2000, HP Pavillion DV3T-2000, HP Tablet 500, HP TouchSmart 610, HP TouchSmart IQ500, HP TouchSmart TX2Z
ASUS EP121 tablet
Announced: January 2011
Processor: Intel Core i5-470UM
Memory: 2GB or 4GB DDR Disk: 32GB solid state drive
Display: 12.1-inch with 1280x800 resolution
Also from ASUS in Microsoft's labs: ASUS EP 121, ASUS TCA70
Dell Inspiron Duo convertible
Introduced: November 2010
Processor: Intel 1.50GHz Atom N550
Memory: 2GB DDR3
Disk: 320GB
HDD Display: 10.1-inch screen with 1366 x 768 resolution
Also from Dell in Microsoft's labs: Dell ST2220Tc, Dell Studio 1747, Dell SX2210T, Dell Studio One, Dell Inspiron 2305, Dell Inspiron One 2305, Dell Latitude E6420, Dell Latitude XT, Dell ST2220T
Lenovo x201, x220t convertible
Introduced: February 2010
Processor: Intel Core i5
Memory: 4GBDDR2
Disk: 320GB HDD
Display: 12-inch screen with 1280 x 800 resolution
Also from Lenovo in Microsoft's Labs: Lenovo ThinkPad X220T, Lenovo ThinkPad X201T, Lenovo C320, Lenovo S10-3T, Lenovo ThinkPad T410S, Lenovo ThinkPad_X60
Acer Aspire 1420p
Introduced: November 2009
Processor: Intel Celeron
Memory: 2GB DDR3
Disk: 250GB HDD
Display: 11.6-inch screen with 1366 x 768 resolution
Also from Acer in Microsoft's labs: Acer Aspire 1825PT, Acer Aspire 5738PG, Acer Aspire Z5610, Acer Iconia, Acer T230H, Acer W500
EXOPC Slate
Introduced: December 2011
Processor: Intel Atom Pineview-M
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Disk: 64GB SSD
Display: 11.6 inch screen with 1366 x 768 resolution
Fujitsu Lifebook T4310
Introduced: August 2011
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory: 4.0 MB RAM
Disk: 320 GB HDD
Display: 12.1-inch display with 1280 x 800 resolution
Samsung Series 7 XE700T1A
Introduced: September 2011
Processor: Intel Core i5
Memory: 4 GB DDR3
Disk: 64 GB SSD
Display: 11.6-inch screen with 1366 x 768 resolution
Sony Vaio J Series
Introduced: June 2010
Processor: Intel Core i7
Memory: 6GB RAM
Disk: 500GB HDD
Display: 21.5-inch screen with 1920 x 1080 resolution
Also from Sony in the Microsoft labs: Sony Vaio L Series
Toshiba Portege_M700
Introduced: December 2007
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory: 4GB DDR2 SDRAM
Disk: 160GB hard drive
Display: 12.1-inch screen with 1280 x 800 resolution
Also from Toshiba in Microsoft labs: Toshiba Sattellite Har/Kar
While there's a lot of talk about touchscreen devices to show off Windows 8 to its best advantage, none is for sale yet built to Microsoft specifications. The company did hand out a limited run of a Samsung Windows 8 Developer Preview touchscreen PCs to key developers, but mere mortals can't buy one. However, here are some off-the-shelf devices that Microsoft says it uses in its labs to put Windows 8 through its paces.
