Motorola Solutions Plans Rugged Windows 8 Tablet [Bloomberg]

Since there already are a bunch of Windows 8 tablets based on x86 CPUs, Motorola figured it was time for a slate that didn't target the same consumer segment as the rest.

In fact, Motorola Solutions, a sister company to Motorola Mobility, has decided not to target the consumer segment at all.

Instead, it has chosen to start designing a rugged tablet that will run Microsoft's Windows 8 Embedded operating system and serve industrial customers and businesses.

The release won't happen until the second half of 2013 though, or maybe even 2014.

Then again, it might not be such a bad idea to wait that long, since the time between now and then can be spent figuring out how to make the slate cheap.

Windows 8 consumer tablets cost over $1,000 / 1,000 Euro, and it stands to reason that Motorola Solutions wants a much lower tag for its rugged model.