5,000 Microsoft developers get Samsung preview tablets

Microsoft on Tuesday gave the 5,000 developers attending its BUILD conference preview units of a Samsung tablet running a version of the upcoming Windows 8 software.

The device appeared to have the same body as Samsung's Series 7 Slate, introduced in August, which runs a dual-core 1.6 GHz Intel i5 chip, has an 11.6-in. screen and weighs slightly less than 2 pounds.

The Microsoft developer version has several added sensors to that Series 7 device, according to Windows President Steven Sinofsky during a presentation at the conference in Anaheim, Calif. Among them, it features Near-Field Communications for mobile payments, USB and HDMI ports and a microSD slot.

AT&T also added a 3G-capable radio to the tablet. The developers will get one year year of free data access allowing up to 2GB of service a month for a year.

Sinofsky said the tablet has 4GB of memory and can support 64GB of storage. Developers will get a port for connecting to a keyboard and a digital pen for added input.

:story: Full story: Computerworld