At BUILD in Anaheim, MS Showcases Next Major Release of Windows, Code-named “Windows 8”

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href="http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/windows/materials.aspx">Read

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size="2"> href="http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/windows/materials.aspx">Download

the Windows 8 Developer Preview Fact Sheet for a more detailed look

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Ovum
Expert Reaction:
face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Ovum

principal analyst Richard Edwards gives his expert opinion face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">





“ size="2">Microsoft

has launched Windows Developer Preview, a pre-beta version of Windows

8 for software developers. Steven Sinofsky, President of the Windows

Division at Microsoft, talked about a reimagining of Windows, and how

the company was building on the foundations of Windows 7 and its

Windows Live services. 542 million people use Windows Live, but

Microsoft now needs to find a way to derive some serious revenue from

these users, and the best way to accomplish this is through apps."

“With

over

450 million copies of Windows 7 sold to date, Microsoft must now

transition its desktop operating system to the world of tablets and

slates. More than two thirds of PCs today are mobile devices

(laptops, netbooks, notebooks, tablets and slates), and so it comes

as no surprise to see that Microsoft has gone 'all-in' with a

complete redesign of the Windows interface to cater for touch

screens."

“Scheduled

for

release in 2012, Windows 8 has a similar look-and-feel to

Microsoft's mobile phone operating system, Windows Phone 7,

although users can switch back and forth to the classic Windows

interface if they prefer. This is a bold move for Microsoft, as

previously the company has tended to follow the market in terms of

user interface design."

“Microsoft

says

that Windows 8 will deliver richer security features, faster

start-up times and longer battery life; it will also run on a wider

choice of devices and chipsets — a major shift for Microsoft's

hitherto x86-only Windows operating system."

“But

in

an app-centric, consumer-oriented world, Windows 8's success

will undoubtedly be measured by the revenue Microsoft drives through

its new Windows app Store. We believe that making a success of the

Windows Store will be a big challenge for Microsoft, but failure is

not an option, as the company desperately needs to generate a new

revenue stream as sales in other areas of its business decline."

“Business

users

have seen the Apple iPad, Android tablets, and the BlackBerry

PlayBook in the workplace, and are excited by these new form factors.

But the only way to deliver traditional, Windows-based,

line-of-business applications to these devices is by investing in

expensive IT virtualisation technology, and so a Windows 8

touch-based slate PC could be a winning combination."

“The

corporate

market is currently exploring the idea of 'Bring Your Own

Device' and we believe that the timing of Windows 8 couldn't be

better. But can Microsoft and its Windows ecosystem deliver? If not,

then it will probably be game-over for the Windows PC as we know it.”