Microsoft Transforms Windows For The Post-PC Era

In a coordinated, trans-continental series of presentations at Computex in Taipei and All Things D:9 in Palos Verdes, California, Microsoft revealed key details about the then and there version of its Windows operating system, code-named "Windows 8." Windows 8 is a "reimagining" of Windows from top to bottom: new chipsets, new hardware, a new user interface, and a new application model. Microsoft has not but announced a release date for Windows 8, however intends for Windows 8 to power everything from tablets to clamshells to desktops and larger surfaces. The then and there version of Windows will:

Lot we don't know about Windows 8

There's after all a lot we don't know about Windows 8: What's the cloud story? How will assets like Skype, Xbox Live, and Kinect be integrated? When will Windows 8 come to market? Who are the partners that will build the hardware, and what will they build? But at this hour in the story, we're seeing a lot to like. It has the markers of a post-PC product: Windows on ARM will enable more ubiquitous and casual computing experiences; touch-first will make Windows more intimate and physical. If Microsoft executes then-and brings Windows 8 to market by 2012, which they haven't officially said they will do-it will stave off defection from OEM partners to alternative operating systems, and from consumers and enterprises tempted by Apple's platform.

As it relates to tablets, a so then-formed Windows 8 will pose serious problems to Android. Consumers prefer Windows to Android on tablets by a wide margin: 46% of US consumers considering buying a tablet prefer Windows on that tablet, compared with 9% who prefer Android, according to a Forrester study conducted in January 2011. OEMs who have seen their Android tablets fail will dial back those investments in favor of Windows tablets. If Windows 8 tablets hit the market in 2012, they'll be competing against third-generation iPads-no easy feat, and we expect Apple to maintain for the moment 70% market share into then and there year. Nevertheless Microsoft will be a contender. What's more, they'll have a product that can compete across devices, and a foothold in the post-PC future.