Tablets are “terribly important” for Microsoft, and the firm is working with manufacturers to bring an “impressive range” of the devices to market, according to chief executive Steve Ballmer.
New Windows-powered tablets —which Microsoft is calling Slate PCs — are in the pipeline from Acer, Dell, Samsung, Toshiba, Sony and a dozen other PC makers, Ballmer said at the company’s annual partner conference.
“This year, one of the most important things that we will do in the smart device category is really push forward with Windows 7-based slates,” said Ballmer.
“Over the course of the next several months you will see a range of Windows 7-based slates that I think you’ll find quite impressive,” he told attendees. “This is a terribly important area for us. We are hardcore about this.”
“They’ll come with keyboards, they’ll come without keyboards, they’ll be dockable, there’ll be many form factors, many price points, many sizes,” said Ballmer. “But they will all run Windows 7. They will run Windows 7 applications. They will run Office.”
Ballmer first revealed Microsoft’s slate plans in January, three weeks before Apple unveiled the iPad, but the first devices have yet to go on sale. Apple, meanwhile, has sold in excess of three million units.
Reuters / Nicole Kobie
