Microsoft has announced that it will finish work on Windows 8 by the end of this summer and will most likely launch the operating system in October.
According to media reports, Microsoft is expected to have both the x86 and the ARM editions ready simultaneously. Earlier, the reports were that Windows 8 would be ready by the end of July 2012. It seems that the marketeers want their paws on it in the run up to the launch.
So, there’ll be only 5 ARM devices in the release, compared with over forty Intel machines. However, taking into consideration the fact that the industry wasn’t expecting to see ARM hardware until much later, that wasn’t very surprising. In other words, Microsoft is going to target Christmas shoppers with the new software able to work with touch-screen electronic devices.
The industry experts pointed out that if Microsoft misses the fall time frame, the software giant is going to be stuck without having ability to ship anything in the current year. Indeed, the company needs a Windows tablet out there, able to compete with the Apple’s new iPad. Microsoft is planning to host an event for its industry partners early next month, where it will spell out its release strategy for the new operating system, providing more details on both timing and marketing.
Meanwhile, the industry experts have noticed that the developers seem to have less difficulty getting Windows 8 ready for x86, but it appeared harder to make it run on ARM. Meanwhile, Steven Sinofsky, president of the Windows business, continues saying that the company is going to have both ARM and Intel-based systems available when the new operating system is released this fall.
