Microsoft on Windows 8, Tablets: Now You See It, Now You Don?t

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer talks about the future of Windows at CES 2010. Photo: Jonathan Snyder/Wired.com

Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer got ahead of himself on Monday when he publicly blurted out a general roadmap for the next version of Windows.

Ballmer told an audience at a developer forum in Tokyo that Microsoft will have news to share about Windows 8 on tablets, slates and PCs over the next year.

“As we look forward to the next generation of Windows systems, which will come out next year, there’s a whole lot more coming,” Ballmer was quoted in a transcript provided by Microsoft. “As we progress through the year, you ought to expect to hear a lot about Windows 8. Windows 8 slates, tablets, PCs, a variety of different form factors.”

However, later Monday afternoon a Microsoft spokesperson retracted Ballmer’s statement.

“It appears there was a misstatement,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement the company issued. “We are eagerly awaiting the next generation of Windows 7 hardware that will be available in the coming fiscal year. To date, we have yet to formally announce any timing or naming for the next version of Windows.”

Besides Ballmer’s hiccup, little is known about Microsoft’s next operating system. In June 2010, an Italian Windows blog published what it purported to be slides showing Microsoft’s plans for Windows 8. The slides hinted that Microsoft hopes to replicate Apple’s App Store model and instant-on capability for devices in order for Windows 8 to succeed. �Microsoft did not confirm the authenticity of the slides, though observers agreed that they look credible.

A looming question about Microsoft as a whole is just what it plans to do in the tablet market in the wake of the iPad. Apple, Google, and dozens of other small companies have produced tablet products, but Microsoft has not yet announced a credible tablet strategy. Microsoft’s retraction of Ballmer’s statement about Windows 8 on tablets suggests that the company isn’t quite firm about its plans.

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