Only days after Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer carried a Samsung Windows RT ATIV Tab on stage to join QUALCOMM in announcing their partnership at CES 2013, Samsung has stopped releasing a Windows RT tablet in the U.S., citing confusion between Windows 8 and Windows RT as the reason.

Follow us

Windows RT can be a bit confusing to customers and that's the reason Samsung has decided not to move forward with the release of the ATIV Tab in the U.S. Windows RT looks like Windows 8, acts like Windows 8 (in some areas), but is very much a different operating system. Windows RT is a version of Windows Microsoft created to be used on tablets running ARM processors. It's the OS found on their Surface tablet and is more comparable to its Windows Phone OS than the desktop version of Windows 8. It can only run applications that are purchased in the Windows Store and cannot run any Windows desktop applications. Having to explain the differences to customers was just too much for Samsung to bear and they have decided not to move forward with the U.S. launch of its ATIV Tab.

"There wasn't really a very clear positioning of what Windows RT meant in the marketplace, what it stood for relative to Windows 8, that was being done in an effective manner to the consumer. When we did some tests and studies on how we could go to market with a Windows RT device, we determined there was a lot of heavy lifting we still needed to do to educate the customer on what Windows RT was. And that heavy lifting was going to require pretty heavy investment. When we added those two things up, the investments necessary to educate the consumer on the difference between RT and Windows 8, plus the modest feedback that we got regarding how successful could this be at retail from our retail partners, we decided maybe we ought to wait," Michael Abary, Samsung's Senior Vice President recently told CNET.

Join Our Conversation

Smartphones

LG Optimus GJ Waterproof Smartphone Now Official, Will Sport $600 Price Tag

Nokia Launched LiveSight For HERE Maps On Windows Phone 8

Samsung Galaxy S4 Sells 10M Units In First Month, More Color Options Coming This Summer

HTC One Google Edition With Stock Android May Arrive This Summer

Tablet / Laptop / PC

Amazon Launches 7-Inch And 8.9-Inch Kindle Fire HD Tablets In 170 Countries

Lenovo ThinkPad Helix Hybrid Tablet-Ultrabook Now Available Starting At $1679

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Leaks In Benchmarks With Intel Inside

Samsung Galaxy S4, Galaxy Note 8.0 Top Consumer Reports Rankings

Gadgets

Recharge Your Phone In 20 Seconds With This Revolutionary Device

Ouya Will Be At E3 2013, But Not Where You Think

Next Microsoft Xbox To Sport Dashboard UI Update And Tile Changes

Google Media Streamer Hits FCC To Replace Nexus Q

OS / Software

Former Nokia Team Jolla, Announces First Sailfish Powered Smartphone For Asia

Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean Update For Samsung Galaxy S3 Transform It Into Galaxy S4 (To Some Extent)

iOS 7 To Come With Flickr, Vimeo Integration

Samsung Galaxy S4 'Google Edition' Will Be Available In U.S. Only?

Internet / Social Media

AT&T Promises Cellular Video Calls, Mobile Video Chat For All Customers

Flickr Boasts 'Spectacular' Redesign, Offers A Whopping 1TB Of FREE Storage

Download 40 GB In A Second: Researchers Set Up World's Fastest Wi-Fi Network In Germany

YouTube Shoppable Videos - Will Google Hit A New Jackpot?

What's App

Nokia Launched LiveSight For HERE Maps On Windows Phone 8

Nokia Xpress Now Web App Announced For Asha Devices

Samsung Galaxy S4 App Contest Boasts $800,000 Total Prizes For Talented Devs

Intellicam App Brings First Hands-Free Camera Feature To Windows Phone 8