With the release of Microsoft’s Surface tablet, we’ve gotten the question several times, “Do ASNA products run on tablets?” When the question is asked, we’re not sure if the question is specifically about the MS Surface tablet or if the release of the MS Surface simply put tablets back on everyone’s radar.
The definition of “tablet” has shifted with the advent of the iPad. There was a time when we called laptops like this “tablets.” We’ve had many customers deploy to this type of device over the years. But let’s assume that isn’t the kind of tablet being considered here. Let’s assume that “tablet” in this question applies to the recently released Microsoft Surface tablet. There are two MS Surface tablets:
- Surface with Windows RT—this tablet is available now. It doesn’t use an Intel processor; it uses an ARM processor and a special version of the Windows OS known as Window RT. Think of Windows RT as a reboot of the old Windows CE (compact edition) operating system (it isn’t! but put it in that slot in your brain!). ASNA products (and most other fat client products—except some of MS’s apps that they’ve enhanced) do not run on this tablet. Note that this version of the Surface tablet includes Internet Explorer 10, so it is quite likely that this table would work fine as a client for ASNA browser-based solutions.
- Surface with Windows 8 Pro—this tablet is not yet available (it is rumored to be available in January). It sports an Intel processor and will run the full version of Windows 8. Any ASNA that support Windows 8 are assumed to be able to work on this tablet. There are some unknowns regarding the touch-centric nature of this tablet, but assuming that touch features fire traditional events under the covers (ie, when you press a button with your finger the click event fires) there shouldn’t be any problem. We’ll reserve a 100% compliance claim until after we’ve tested our products on one—but we are confident that our products that work with Windows 8 should work just fine with the Surface Windows 8 Pro.
As a general rule, when someone asks about “tablet” compatibility, simply refer to the runtime requirements of the ASNA product in question. If the tablet fulfills its runtime requirements, we’re nearly certain that we’re compatible with that tablet. We say “nearly certain” because there are so many tablets available and there may an unusual BIOS issue or some other very small but important difference that inhibits our compatibility.
ASNA products and tablets
ASNA Wings 6.0 has several interesting enhancements that make a great partner for tablets.
