Microsoft CEO says will see Windows slates by Christmas
(Reuters) - A Microsoft slate to counter Apple's popular iPad tablet computer will be seen by the Christmas holiday, Microsoft's Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said on Tuesday. — Ballmer did not say whether the palm-sized slates …
Context & Ripple Effects
The January run-up set this up: Microsoft and H.P. planned to reveal a slate PC ahead of Apple's iPad launch, and TechCrunch quickly noted H.P. was also testing an Android-based version of the same hardware — evidence the OEM was keeping its OS options open. Nine months later, with the iPad shipping at roughly 4.5 million units per quarter per Bernstein Research, Ballmer is committing to a visible answer by the Christmas selling season.
The timing matters beyond the product itself: just a day earlier Microsoft confirmed it is opening a Mall of America retail store directly across from an Apple store, continuing the follower posture the press has flagged since the 2006 'iPod up its sleeve' question. Neowin's syndicated pickup adds that an unveiling may come as early as October 11.
First-order effects
- Microsoft and its hardware partners now have a hard deadline: Windows 7 slate designs must be shippable in volume before the holiday quarter or Ballmer's public promise becomes another missed cycle.
- OEMs like H.P., which has been hedging between Windows and Android versions of its slate since January, gain a marketing window to position devices directly against the iPad at retail.
Second-order effects
- Apple's pricing and app-store advantage, backed by the Bernstein-reported sales pace, pressures Microsoft partners to compete on price or enterprise integration rather than match the iPad feature-for-feature.
- Google benefits either way: every OEM uncertain about Windows' tablet fit keeps Android as a fallback OS, fragmenting Microsoft's exclusive claim on non-Apple tablets.
Third-order effects
- If the Christmas slates underperform, pressure builds for Microsoft to redesign Windows for touch rather than shrink the desktop OS — a fork in the road for the entire PC ecosystem's tablet strategy.
- Retail becomes part of the competitive structure: Microsoft's store-across-from-Apple approach extends the imitation dynamic from products to distribution channels.
The trend: Tablet computing is consolidating around Apple's integrated hardware-software-retail model, forcing Microsoft to decide whether desktop Windows can be retrofitted for touch or must be rebuilt.