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13 Jul 2010
Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer has told delegates at the Worldwide Partner Conference 2010 in Washington that the company will release a tablet device running Windows 7 "within months".
Ballmer said that Microsoft is also working with Dell, Samsung and Toshiba to develop portable tablets similar to the Apple iPad.
Microsoft had been working with HP on such a device, but that project has almost ended since HP's acquisition of Palm.
Ballmer also said that Windows Phone 7 had been completely reworked and will be available within months. He admitted to serious problems in the mobile team, but said that he is happy with the new operating system.
"We missed a generation with Windows Mobile," he said. "We really did miss almost a release cycle."
Microsoft is the third or fourth biggest smartphone operating system vendor but has been losing share steadily for the past year. Ballmer did not mention Microsoft's short-lived Kin platform.
He also committed Microsoft firmly to cloud services, telling delegates that, if they are not interested in the cloud, they are following the wrong company.
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Too little too late?
Described as the potential ?iPad killer?, Microsoft?s development of a Windows 7 tablet-style PC looks set to increase competition. The Microsoft Corporation?s CEO Steve Ballmer has revealed that they will be releasing a range of tablets which will all be Windows-7 based. The tablets will incorporate Microsoft Office, with features such as Word, PowerPoint and Excel included. Not wanting to miss out on the current boom of portable computing, Microsoft has companies such as Samsung, Hewlett-Packard and Dell working on the tablets which will reportedly make an appearance on the market soon. Microsoft's recent efforts could be deemed 'too little too late', as they "missed a generation" not only with mobile devices, but also with tablet PCs. With Apple and Google's Android having already released their mobile and tablet-style devices, competition looks tough for Microsoft. However, the Windows Phone's pre-production success and Microsoft's offering of free Windows Phone Live for users makes it a contender for the iPhone and other mobile devices which are already on the market. Kate. www.article10.com
Posted by: Kate Lowe 14 Jul 2010