Microsoft has no tablet option until Xmas 2012

With Apple set to take a significant chunk of the OS market in 2011, Microsoft has made an executive decision to offer no additional resistance against the all-conquering Jobs advance. KitGuru questions the wisdom.

If IDC's predictions are correct, then lumping tablet PCs in with regular desktops, netbooks and notebooks could give Apple around 10% of the OS market. It's a blow, but the Android market is growing quicker (although it's starting from near zero) and could prove to be very annoying to Microsoft in 2012/13.

So how long will it take Microsoft to respond?

Microsoft's sales hierarchy has been told that they will get no new tools or pricing in 2011. Microsoft is not expecting the Windows 7 Starter Edition to be able to compete. For one thing, it is too expensive. It's also feature-lite. Lastly, it's not allowed to be used on systems with a screen bigger than 10 inches (which neo-maxi-zoom-dweebie invents a daft rule like that anyway?).

KitGuru's sources tell us that while Microsoft Windows 8 will be ready to compete in the touch screen environment, but it's not scheduled to be released until well into 2012, so the first time it will be able to offer genuine resistance will be around Christmas 2012.

So there you have it, for the first time in as long as anyone can remember, Microsoft will finally be looking at a market share significantly under 90% in the very near future.

The last time that (almost) happened was when Asus unloaded a 7″ midget of a PC with a whopping 4GB of ‘hard drive storage', in the form of the original EeePC.

KitGuru says: Right now, the spirit of Gates will be howling through Microsoft's halls at night. The company will respond in the only way it can – with a huge marketing investment. Expect a loud crashing noise as Microsoft smashes open the main lock on the biggest marketing war chest you've ever seen.

Comments below or in the KitGuru forum on what you think Microsoft will do next in order to protect its market.

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