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Build Your Own Windows 8 Tablet With Off-The-Shelf Gear

The Samsung tablet running the Windows 8 Developer Preview that Microsoft gave out to BUILD 2011 attendees is on eBay and other classified sites for over a thousand dollars, but if you want to experience Windows 8′s interface on a tablet instead of with a keyboard and mouse, ExtremeTech has a guide to building your own with easily available tablets that you can buy anywhere at more modest prices.

Photo by Odi Kosmatos.

Essentially, almost any tablet on the market running Windows 7 now will do the trick, although ExtremeTech has some specific suggestions for tablets you may want that will offer the right balance of price to performance once you install Windows 8. The steps to installing Windows 8 on a tablet are similar to installing Windows 8 on a laptop without an optical drive, but you’ll also need an ISO mounting utility to get the install going. Once you’re finished, you’ll have your own Windows 8 tablet, and you don’t have to complain about how the Metro UI interface is designed for touch-screens: you’ll be able to try it yourself.

How to Build Your Own Windows 8 Developer Preview Tablet [ExtremeTech]

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(3 Comments)
  • [–]

    :)

    Tuesday, September 27, 2011 at 10:14 AM

    And here I was getting excited about building a tablet. Don’t see any building going on. Just a sub-par “guide” to installing Win 8. (source that is.)

    Reply
  • [–]

    LG

    Tuesday, September 27, 2011 at 12:02 PM

    Build your own Windows 8 Tablet
    1) Buy a Win 7 Tablet
    2) Install Win 8 Developer Preview

    Seriously? That’s your story?

    Reply
  • [–]

    Tim

    Tuesday, September 27, 2011 at 1:25 PM

    I have to admit this article is rather lame, and the title is misleading.

    But anyone who doesn’t know that they can get any Win7 tablet and put Win8 on it shouldn’t be messing with a developer preview anyway.

    Reply

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