Microsoft may be ready to lift the curtain on Windows 8 as a tablet platform by the end of this month.
Reports began popping up yesterday that Microsoft is expected to have an important presentation at the All Things D conference, which begins on May 31. All eyes are on whether or not it will debut a Windows 8 tablet.
The company has not confirmed any such plans, but it also did not deny the rumors.
In addition to replacing its Windows 7 operating system on the millions of traditional notebook and desktop PCs sold every year, Windows 8 has another target in mind. For the first time, Microsoft is developing its computer software so that it can easily be tailored for non-traditional computing devices.
Microsoft announced earlier this year that some versions of Windows 8 will use standard Intel chips, while others – those optimized for tablets and mobile gadgets – will work on ARM technology.
And it’s not just going to be one ARM-based Windows operating system. There will be four different versions of the OS running on ARM.
Tablets, specialized electronics, and other gadgets will all get their own version of Windows 8. To date, the idea of a Windows 7 tablet has made some rumblings, but because it is so strictly built for a standard computer, it’s been difficult for Microsoft to introduce it as a solid tablet platform.
Windows 8 is targeted for a 2012 release, making the gap between Win 7 and Win 8 shorter than that of Vista and Win 7. If not for the explosion of the tablet market, there probably wouldn’t have been such a rush to introduce the new OS.
