Bloomberg: Microsoft’s iPad competitor not out until late 2012

By on Mar 4, 2011 at 12:04 PM
Tablets March 4, 2011

Bloomberg is reporting that Microsoft won’t have an iPad or Android OS tablet competitor until fall of 2012. It’s said that Microsoft will start testing a new version of Windows publicly at the end of this year with partners and customers, and that new version is reported to be more tailored to touchscreens. It will also feature battery life optimizations to allow for minimal power drain on portable devices. Microsoft has had no relative success in the tablet market despite its attempts to try and create the category dating back many years ago. We have to ask: does a “tablet-optimized” version of Windows sound appealing to you?

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  • http://twitter.com/clientsfromhell Mr Multimedia

    It does’nt really matter, the worlds ending in 2012.

    • Anonymous

      Hey, you have a point!

    • Anonymous

      Go figure, Microsoft releasing a product that kills us all. Well played sir, well played indeed!

    • Anonymous

      Not if you’re a goofan (aka apple hater.) we, because our alliance to google are protected. Everyone else will die. Unfortunately not everyone can be a goofan (aka apple hater). You have to have a minimum of 190 iq.

  • http://twitter.com/ctt1wbw Wayne Williams

    Oh, and get rid of that fat bald stupid idiot on stage and it might come out sooner. That guy is a complete buffoon of the nth power.

  • http://rmbo47.myopenid.com/ rmbo47

    It’s all over but for the crying with the M$FT offering.

  • Anonymous

    You’ve got to be joking. What are they, throwing in the towel? There’s no way Microsoft didn’t see this coming with early enough warning to be ready! Gosh, I’m glad google is taking over everything technology! I hate to have those guys in business. Especiall that bold man in the picture! Who is that anyway?

  • Anonymous

    Tell you what ballmer just make tablet with a slow half baked buggy os on it. Charge $700-$800 for it. Give it a 4 hour battery life. Make people sign a 2 year contract. Give it a plastic thick feel. With a bunch of useless battery sucking widgets and live wallpapers. Give it one update and that’s it. And spec it up not like a half inch thich 10 inch tablet but like a laptop of computer that I already have. O wait that’s android os and android os tablets that have come out or are on there way this summer. Another idea can be just make the hardware and put android os on it like every other company. Well except for one.

    • Anonymous

      iPad can’t flash! Can’t do upwards of 200 applications simultaneously on a single charge! Can’t, Can’t, Can’t!!!! Xoom can do everything, it has the most powerful OS EVER devised! I know I keep repeating this, but it’s worth repeating!

      • Scorp

        I honestly love your posts

  • Anonymous

    I can’t wait till the competitor to the ipad2 comes out! Next march…. lol

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1001483324 Gerry Quaglia

    These guys don’t get it. The reason the ipad works is that it runs an OS that was made for mobile devices. A full fledged OS on a tablet doesn’t work and most people don’t want it. If M$ continues to be insistent on doing this, then they are doomed to fail, just like every other time they’ve tried it.

    • Scorp

      Exactly. People do not want a full OS tablet. There’s a reason all their windows tablets failed before. People want the device to be easy to use and fun. They don’t want another device they have to install virus protection on, defragment and clean up the hard drive on a daily basis.

    • Anonymous

      Plenty of people would like full OS that’s actualy optimized for mobile. You can’t out-Apple Apple anyway. It’s not like Ipad can replace laptops. People still need those and if they could have laptop that could do everything tablet can and do it well plenty of them wouldn’t bother getting a tablet in the first place and that’s really the opportunity for Microsoft instead of hopelessly trying to copy Apple.

  • http://www.backupoutlook.com/ MelVA

    The idea to optimize Windows, be it for a table or a mobile, does sound appealing. It’s really perfect for business enthusiasts. The idea of something portable with Windows in it is like carrying lightly all of your business needs wherever you want to go around.

  • Scorp

    They can barely optimize Windows for a laptop so it will interesting to see this “optimization” for a tablet. I see Windows Vista all over again.

  • Avelino

    Thanks but don’t thanks !!! Don’t need Windows on the tab… And after 22 years using MS software it’s time to change….

  • Anonymous

    Sure I’m interested. I use convertible PC laptop and because of it I find slates like iPad or Xoom to be completely useless. Windows 7 is already fully functional with touch only and despite the fact that it’s far from ideal it’s enough for when I use the tablet mode. But I want upgrades. Especially since I love my stylus and MS won’t forget about it, unlike iPad and most android tablets. Courier concept showed a lot of promise, same with surface demos. It seems Microsoft has great fresh ideas so I hope they will be able to implement them in actual product this time around.

  • Anonymous

    Sure I’m interested. I use convertible PC laptop and because of it I find slates like iPad or Xoom to be completely useless. Windows 7 is already fully functional with touch only and despite the fact that it’s far from ideal it’s enough for when I use the tablet mode. But I want upgrades. Especially since I love my stylus and MS won’t forget about it, unlike iPad and most android tablets. Courier concept showed a lot of promise, same with surface demos. It seems Microsoft has great fresh ideas so I hope they will be able to implement them in actual product this time around.

  • Anonymous

    Im trying to understand what makes Microsoft think that people are willing to wait months & years for their products when they only offer on par items and the market is saturated with Tablets.

  • dwinsmith

    I’m not sure anything sounds more unappealing than a Windows tablet.

    This will turn out like their iPod competitor. What is it called?

  • http://twitter.com/khanam Amir Khan

    The arrogance of microsoft is that they actually believe they can design an inferior product later than everybody else (hello zune, windows phone 7 with no cut/paste plus numerous other issues) and expect people to buy it. msft is an enterprise company. period. if apple were to suddenly start designing cheaper macs, the only reason msft sell any product to a consumer will go away too.

  • Anonymous

    Balmer will entirely kill his company. I give him no more than another year for that. He already put a huge crisis with Intel, his historical partner with whom PC workd had been hard locked for years, making the fortune of both. He already KILLED his own Windows Phone 6.x, far before he could come out with a mature WP7, not expected before another 1 or 2 years…after they discover Copy and Paste (shame). Now instead of CUTTING by 3/4th his price for Windows 7 (optimized for toutch usage since day1, hence ready to go except for pricing), via a special tablet version <25$, so that combined with last Intel DC entry Procs optimized for mobiles, their OEMs can get an appealing offer that could immediatly compete with iPad and Honneycomb Tablets, he plays everything on future Windows 8 support for ARM, and a verion comming after the game in 2012. DEAD ON ARRIVAL is my guess too. Bill please come back before Balmer has entirely KILLED your beloved company.

    • Steve Hillshire

      Yes, as much as some of the world hated Gates, he had the vision for the company. Much like how Jobs is credited for it at Apple. Balmer *is* going to kill Microsoft. He lacks the geek vision that makes tech companies tick. Gates would always be looking beyond what is possible today and tomorrow it was coming out. People were excited for the next big thing. Microsoft under Balmer can’t even envision a smart phone anymore. They are on a collision path with self destruction.

  • Anonymous

    Meh, Balmer needs to hire a 16 year old kid to manage new products.

  • Anonymous

    @hillbilly hillshire. The iPhone paved the way smartphones are mad today. Not the Dell axim or the palm treo. Did your treo or axim have a 3.5in or bigger screen, 8gb or more storage, any ram at all. Thousands of apps. No they didnt.

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