Windows 8 will be a revolutionary product when it’s released on October 26th, but whether it will be a commercial success is still to be seen. Microsoft is betting the farm that the new operating system, which will run on everything from desktops to tablets to phones, will catch on and end up being the ubiquitous operating system on the planet.
In a recent interview with Seattle Times, Steve Ballmer said that the expectation is Microsoft will have an “epic year” with all of their new products. He was also asked about whether the upcoming Microsoft Surface tablet would be competing with the iPad on price or features, and the answer seems to be “features.” Although he mentions that the price of the upcoming tablet has not yet been announced, he thinks the device will run somewhere between $300 and $800. This should put the $199 Surface rumor to bed.
It’s also clear that Ballmer believes that tablets should do more than what is currently offered on the market. He calls out the Kindle Fire in particular, saying that students would never use the device to do their homework, implying that the Surface will be a great all-around PC-like device.
If you say to somebody, would you use one of the 7-inch tablets, would somebody ever use a Kindle (Kindle Fire, $199) to do their homework? The answer is no; you never would. It's just not a good enough product. It doesn't mean you might not read a book on it....
As we get closer to the release date, excitement for the latest Microsoft products will only continue to grow. We can’t wait to see if, like Ballmer believes, this will be “the most epic year in Microsoft history.”
Source: Seattle Times
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