The New york Occasions is reporting that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer may demonstrate off some new slates and tablets from several Computer partners in the Customer Electronics Display (CES) 2011 in January.
Seems like CES 2010 revisited, doesn;t it? Last year, the centerpiece of Ballmer;s keynote was an HP slate prototype (that eventually emerged like a extremely distinct searching HP Slate 500 item aimed at company customers).
Ballmer has mentioned a lot about Windows slates this 12 months, none of which seems to have impressed Wall Street or a lot of buyers. He mentioned slates are career quantity 1 at Microsoft and also mentioned to expect the first “real” Windows-based iPad competitors to arrive some time in 2011, after Intel ships its Oak Trail processors. The Times says that new slates from Samsung and Dell might get some stage time. (Rumors of a Samsung
Windows 7 slate were circulating in March of this year.)
The New york Times story throws 1 new tidbit into the mix, claiming that Ballmer might even show off a tablet running Windows 8 during his keynote.
As we know from a leaked slide deck from April 2010,
Windows 7 Serial, Microsoft is making sure that Windows 8 will run nicely on slates.
But it;s quite early days for Windows 8,
Windows 7 64 Bit, which is not expected by many to be released until 2013. Microsoft still has not yet finished its internal Milestone 2 (M2) build, according to my sources. (That is expected to be completed by January or February, I hear.) Then there will be an M3 build (with coding to begin in late February) ,
Windows 7 Product Key, and — some say — a public beta by Fall 2011. (PDC 2011,
Office 2010 Activation, maybe?) In short, Windows 8 is not yet approaching the finish line. Or even the beta starting line.
The Windows team has been striving to maintain as much secrecy as possible about Windows 8. So a showing as early as January 2011 would be uncharacteristic and surprising. But it also may possibly silence some of the continued criticism of Microsoft;s lack of a true answer to the iPad. So maybe the Windows team will be asked to break the mold… Still,
Office 2010 Activation, I have to say if Microsoft does demonstrate off Windows 8 in January, I will be particularly surprised….