Microsoft prepares Windows 8 for battle against the iPad

 Microsoft is set to unveil the next generation of Windows today. The new operating system, currently known asWindows 8, is the tech giant's attempt to regain ground that it has lost to Apple, which surpassed Microsoft last year as the world's most valuable company.

It isn't the MacBook or Mac OS X Lion that has Microsoft executives worried, though. It's the sheer dominance of the iPad.

The iPad hasn't skipped a beat since its debut last year. Thanks to Apple's ingenuity, a shockingly low starting price and a strong marketing campaign, the device has sold more than 25 million units in less than a year and a half. More importantly, it has defined a whole new category of consumer devices. And it dominates that category with an iron fist.

iPad competitors have come and gone, but none have been able to make a dent in the iPad's rapid growth. HP has given up on the TouchPad, the RIM Playbook has underperformed and countless Android tablets have fallen by the wayside. Nothing has emerged as the alternative to the iPad.

Windows 8: One OS to rule them all

This presents a dangerous problem and an opportunity for Microsoft. The tech giant cannot let Apple monopolize the tablet market like Microsoft did with the desktop OS. That would seal its fate as a technology power destined to diminish into a shell of its former self.

There is a need for a legitimate alternative to the iPad, though, and the company that gets it right will emerge in a strong position to take a big piece of the fast-growing tablet market. Success in tablets would boost Microsoft's profits, ease investor concerns about the shrinking PC market and set it up for future growth.

That's where Windows 8 comes in. The next generation OS, which will be unveiled at the Microsoft Build conference on Tuesday, is not only designed for PCs, but it is also made to work on tablets as well. We got a taste of its touchscreen capabilities at the D9 conference earlier this year, but we expect Microsoft to unveil the first Windows 8 tablet during Tuesday's keynote. Our sources tell us that the device will be manufactured by Samsung but has been designed meticulously by Microsoft in an attempt to create the iPad alternative.

Will Microsoft's gamble work? Can the company create an OS that works seamlessly on both tablets and PCs? And most of all, will it be useful enough, different enough and cheap enough to give the iPad a run for its money?

We'll be closer to knowing the answers to those questions Tuesday morning. The tablet wars are about to begin in earnest.

Mobee intros Magic Numpad for your Magic Trackpad, glittery dust not included

Is the act of crunching numbers a daily task for you, and do you use a Magic Trackpad? Well, if actual keys or a calculator / mouse hybrid just aren't magical enough for you, then Mobee's Magic Numpad may just be. Despite its name, the Numpad is a $29 set of films that allows you to morph your Trackpad into one of three numeric "keypad" layouts, with software for enabling an on-screen calculator and setting macros. Adding Splenda to the strawberries, you'll also get a cleaning kit and erasable marker to customize your films even further. If the left side of your brain is pounding with excitement, the Magic Numpad is available for pre-order now and should ship come this October.

Jabra Sport bluetooth headset lets you work the Thigh Master during concalls

If you're secretly wearing Spandex bicycle shorts underneath your suit for on-the-fly workouts between conference calls, then perhaps Jabra's new Sport bluetooth headset is for you. Of course it allows you to answer calls, but what's cooler is the built-in FM radio and A2DP technology for wirelessly connecting to your MP3 player -- claiming to be the first headset to handle both. The company also threw in a free download of the Endomondo Sports Tracker for iPhone, Android or BlackBerry -- which is kind of like the Nike+ app, tracking runs and giving speed and distance updates. This $99 device will be sold by Sprint, Apple and T-Mobile, and available sometime in September along with a corded version, aptly named the Jabra Sport-Corded, for $69

LG PZ850 Pentouch Plasma TV hands-on

Samsung took IFA by storm yesterday with its now-legendary "S Pen" (that Galaxy Note comes bundled), so it's only fair that LG gets its chance in the spotlight with a pen of its own. The company's Pentouch comes with a plasma TV in tow, and lets you do super-slick stuff to your productivity suite -- you can mark up Word docs, handwrite URLs in the browser, highlight elements in your PowerPoint presentations, or even flick one of those little red balls of fluff in Angry Birds. $2,199 will net you a 3D-enabled 60-inch LG PZ850 with Pentouch TV -- a non-3D model is available for $1,699, and there's a 50-inch version as well, priced at a mere $1,099.

You'll need to collect quite a few ingredients before you can get cookin' here, including the TV, the pair of included pens, and a computer to pump content to your TV. If you're planning to use the display with kids, a printer might be a good idea as well, so your little ones will have a platform to preserve all those on-screen sketched masterpieces (this thing puts coloring books to shame). Everything seemed to work as described (note: this isn't a touchscreen, so you'll need to use the pen), though the software did hiccup once while attempting to hand-write the Engadget URL. We see this being more of a hit for enterprise use, since there isn't really any need to mark up photos or tap the screen to launch apps in your living room. Still thinking about taking the plunge? Jump past the break for a video walkthrough (yes, and yet another clip of Angry Birds).

LG E2391VR LED LCD Monitor hands-on

When it comes to having the world's slimmest display, competition is fierce, and technicalities abound. One manufacturer in particular makes that class-leading claim more often than others, however, so it was no surprise when LG decided to show off a "world slimmest monitor" at its enormous IFA hall this year. The E2391VR is, as expected, incredibly thin. At 7.2mm, it's noticeably skinnier than the 9.3mm iPhone 4, so if you actually spend time looking at the side of your display, you'll probably really like this one. But -- and this, as with other models, can be a very big but for some users -- all of the ports, and most of the critical components, are in the TV's base. The 23-inch model we saw is rather small to wall-mount, so that base shouldn't be an issue for most. It offers 1080p video, a 2ms response time, HDMI, D-sub, headphone out, and a "10,000,000:1 contrast ratio" -- and, well, it looks great too, though reflections were a glaring issue in the bright exhibit hall.

Crux360 iPad 2 keyboard case review

Yeah... we know. At this point you're probably clutching your funds tightly, eagerly anticipating the release of the iPad 3. But for those of you who recently purchased version 2.0, or perhaps just discovered your need for a Bluetooth keyboard, allow us to shed some light on the Crux360. Sure this isn't the first one of these we've seen, but the full range of motion in the hinge makes this a nice accessory for your Apple slate.

Jarre AeroSystem One's music makes the audiophiles come together

We've all got that one friend who just cannot believe you'd listen to 128kbps MP3s. Well, forget the rent, slap a handful of Benjamins down, slot this AeroSystem One next to your IKEA furniture, and then continue to play those low bit rate tracks -- it should drive'em nuts. Designed with a decidedly anti-regressive approach to sound quality, Jarre's lamp-like audiophile rig is the Lady Liberty of digital music, accepting not only all generations of Apple's iPods and iPhones, but also tunes recorded in any digital format. The stainless steel and toughened glass-made sound system, measuring about three and a half feet tall and weighing about 32lbs, pumps up those iTunes jams with the aid of two 30W satellite speakers and one 60W subwoofer. Oh, and that cost? Yeah, the sound of this music's gonna run you 799 Euros (or $1,135), but hey -- a month or three of ramen never hurt anybody.

AR.Drone control finally comes to Android, lazy quadrocopter enthusiasts rejoice

The folks at Parrot have been promising us an Android app for the AR.Drone since pretty much day one. Well, it certainly took long enough (it's been over a year since the app was demoed at Google I/O), but pre-made quadrocopter fans no longer have to reach for unofficial solutions to pilot their unmanned vehicle with their Droids. Sadly, games for the flying augmented reality platform are still MIA, but at least you can fire up AR.FreeFlight and have the $299 UAV tear around your block and annoy your neighbors. But, it shouldn't take long for some one to whip up something fun with the SDK.

Amazon tablet coming in November for $250?

Much ink has been spilled in the rumor mill about a coming Amazonian tablet, and now those rumors look to be confirmed. TechCrunch has apparently gotten some time with Amazon's forthcoming slate, and reports that it has a 7-inch, backlit color capacitive screen and is bereft of physical buttons. Word on the web is that the hardware is already good to go, and Amazon is making the last few software tweaks before it goes on sale this November. The tablet is running a heavily skinned version of Android that was developed without any help from the folks in Mountain View. It apparently has a Cover Flow-esque UI, and is deeply integrated with all of Amazon's services (Cloud Player, Instant Video Player, Appstore, and of course the Kindle app). Best of all, it will reportedly cost a scant $250 -- not quite TouchPad territory, but well underneath the iPad's $500 price.

HTC Flyer Honeycomb ROM leaks, not for the timid tableter

One of the biggest knocks against the HTC Flyer when it launched (besides the extra $80 the stylus would cost you) was that it shipped with a Sensed-up version of Gingerbread, instead of the more tablet-appropriate Honeycomb. But, with the Android 3.1-packing Puccini now official, the Taiwanese manufacturer is working to bring the rest of its inbetweeners up to speed and, as usual, the devs appear to have sprung a leak. There's not much information about the early Flyer Honeycomb beta that just dropped on MoDaCo, courtesy of Paul O'Brien, but it's already packaged up in RUU form and ready for flashing. It goes without saying, this is not for the faint of heart. If you cherish things like stability and reliability (you know, if you're a wimp) it's probably best to hold out for an official release.

HP's 12c calculator hits middle age, copes by releasing Anniversary edition

HP's tablet ship may have sailed, but at least you can still count on the outfit for your next reverse Polish notation calculator. That's right, HP's 12c just hit the big three-oh. The classic calculator is celebrating its mid life crisis 30th year in production with a special limited edition number cruncher, featuring an etched faceplate declaring its pedigree. If 1981's coolest calculator isn't your style, don't fret -- HP is also releasing a limited edition run of 1982's HP 15c, boasting a hundred-fold improvement in performance over its predecessor. Retro calculation can be yours for $80 and $100, respectively.

PIGORASS quadruped robot baby steps past AIBO's grave

Does the Uncanny Valley extend to re-creations of our four-legged friends? We'll find out soon enough if Yasunori Yamada and his University of Tokyo engineering team manage to get their PIGORASS quadruped bot beyond its first unsteady hops, and into a full-on gallop. Developed as a means of analyzing animals' musculoskeletal system for use in biologically-inspired robots, the team's cyborg critter gets its locomotion on via a combo of CPU-controlled pressure sensors and potentiometers. It may move like a bunny (for now), but each limb's been designed to function independently in an attempt to simulate a simplified neural system. Given a bit more time and tweaking (not to mention a fine, faux fur coating), we're pretty sure this wee bitty beastie'll scamper its way into the homes of tomorrow.