technology

Microsoft released pricing yesterday on the Microsoft store – click here for the Microsoft Store.  The release date is listed as Oct 26.  The really cool looking soft cover / keyboard is $129.

This price is comparable to iPads with full functioning Windows 8 tablet software that unlike iPads will let you save files to folders and use full versions of Microsoft Excel, Word and Outlook.  I wouldn’t recommend you order for construction and real estate yet as

a) they haven’t been available for reviews yet – no one can say how well they will work

b) they don’t have cellular cards – you can only use it if you have wifi at your job site or property.  Alternatively you can use your phone as a hotspot.

Microsoft plans on selling a lot of these tablets – according to the Wall Street Journal they are producing 3 to 5 million of them – you can read the article here.

The Pew Research Center has released a study with some interesting results.  Tablet ownership has increased from 11% of adults in July 2011 to 22% now.  While Apple had a huge head start their share of the growing market is dropping rapidly from 81% of the market to 52%.

This trend will affect construction iPad and real estate iPad usage.  It will be more cost effective to issue Android tablets to employees than iPads.  This reduces the cost of replacement as well if they get lost or damaged.  While the iPad is still dominant you should keep an eye on alternatives as their quality is improving rapidly.