5 Reasons why Windows 8 will have an impact on tech industry

Whether one likes it or not, Android has been the game changer in the mobile phone market. The mobile phone arena had good players, like Apple’s iPhone, Nokia and its hordes of low to mid-level phones, BlackBerry and its white collared army, and many more, but overall the scenario seemed stagnant. Android came in with its initial disappointments, but was quick enough to pass the hurdle with its openness and of course some good support from manufacturers. Similarly, Windows mobile operating system faced initial disappointments, but has been showing improvements over the time. Windows 8 could be the next game changer for the tech terrain, something we believe... so far to make a solid comeback with ‘one for all’ theme. The PC software maker is likely to have learnt tricks of the trade and put in forces at working at this one platform with variations. Read on to know, why we feel Windows 8 will have a huge impact on the tech industry.

Touch UI suited for tablets

Compatibility

The biggest impact that the Windows 8 platform can have is its seamless experience over three important communicating platforms - PC/notebooks, tablets and smartphones. Windows 8 is capable of running on the traditional x86 architecture of PC and notebooks, blooming tablets and smartphones. This is something new and a welcome attribute. Now, we know that this isn't a newly crafted thought, as we have seen Apple maintain the seamless interface experience across its leading products, like the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, and Google has been striving hard to unify its varying web services by a common interface (and has successfully pushed it down our throat) and also adds the default Holo theme to Android. The familiarity of the interface, while working on official tasks on your PC/laptop, surfing the web on a tablet or app searches on the smartphone has been maintained, adding to the convenience. Microsoft plans on maintaining a similar consistency on three major platforms, and not just two. I am sure we aren’t just relying on our tablets and smartphones, the PC/notebook era still exists.  

Metro UI

Microsoft has chosen the tiled Metro UI and has decided to implement it on Windows 8 in a big way. On the tablet front, it’s a great addition - a smooth scrolling pane of tiles does wonders, allowing users to quickly run apps with a touch of a finger. The scenario is different on the desktop. While Microsoft wants to bring the same experience to desktop users, things aren’t that simple. With a minute fraction of users with touchscreen enabled desktops, browsing and running apps on the Metro UI is cumbersome. Touchscreens on desktops are painful to use - they require you to extend your arm out everytime from your keyboard, which isn’t the most ergonomic way of using your PC. It’s fun and cool, but not practical in the long run. The Metro UI on the desktop also houses traditional Windows software, so there’s a distinct lack of consistency. In the decades of Windows’ existence, the Metro UI does feel out of place, at least to the most dedicated Windows user. This could possibly bring Windows 8 some flak over forcing the UI, which could seem just unnecessary to many or with improvements generate a market for touchscreen notebook and PC screens. Thankfully, users can quickly toggle between the Metro UI and the very familiar Windows desktop or deactivate it.

Touch interface