The Microsoft OS created quite a stir in Berlin. Surprise, surprise: Samsung has tested it on a new range; less surprisingly, Nokia has adopted it.

Samsung chooses Microsoft

Largely responsible for the success of the Android OS, which it runs on some of its new models, Samsung’s shift of allegiance  attracted a great deal of attention at this year’s IFA, the consumer electronics and home appliances show in Berlin.

Samsung went much further than a symbolic gesture, bringing out an entire range of Ativ devices running on Windows 8 (to be launched at the end of October), including the 10’’ ATIV Tab tablet, which comes with Office 2013 RT, tablet-PC hybrids:  the ATIV Smart PC and the Smart PC Pro, which are touch sensitive but can also come with an S Pen and detachable keyboard. Samsung’s ATIV range also includes its first Windows smartphones, the ATIV S.

Hybrid PCs

Alongside the ‘tablet-phones’, ‘PC-tablets’, IFA was also notable for the unveiling of all-in-one-PCs, a cross between an ultrabook and a tablet, with Windows 8 touch displays, some of which are detachable, with a keyboard dock and storage capacity. Among the most notable are the Lenovo IdeaCentre A52 (23’’), the ASUS Zenbook Prime UX21A (11.6’’), the Asus Transformer Book, Dell’s XPS Duo 12 (12’’) and XPS 10 and Sony’s Vaio Duo 11 (11.6’’).

• IFA 2012: Lenovo launches the IdeaCentre A520, on Engadget
• Dell XPS 10 and XPS Duo 12: pcworld.com
• Sony launches the Vaio Duo 11 PC/tablet on TechNews

Windows 8 and Nokia: a match made in heaven?

Currently going through a bad patch, the Finnish manufacturer focused for its new range of smartphones on innovation (wireless charging) and the advantages of the new Microsoft OS.

The brand’s high-end model, the Lumia 920, launched on 5 September at a conference in

New York, boasts a number of features and services such as a customisable start screen, NFC, IE10, access to a mobile version of Office, SkyDrive storage, offline-capable versions of Nokia Transport, Drive and Maps, and augmented reality (Nokia City Lens).

Nokia also invested in high-quality images, with a 4.5’’ touch display (WXGA), PureMotion HD+ technology, which adjusts the colour in response to changes in sunlight glare, and the ability to take screenshots. And with an 8.7 Mpx PureView camera with Optical Image Stabilization, the new Lumia 920 is set to rival digital single-lens reflex cameras.

Find out more about the latest high-tech trends with e-media:

• What’s new with Apple
• With Surface, Microsoft breaks into the tablet market.