Microsoft comes out swinging

Microsoft took a big step this week, unveiling a revamped version of its flagship Windows system and offering a closer look at Surface, its entry into the tablet market, writes Sophie Estienne.

The new Windows 8 operating system and tablet mark a new offensive for the US tech giant, which is seeking to keep pace with Apple and Google amid a dramatic shift away from PCs to mobile devices.

“Windows 8 brings together the best of the PC and the tablet,” said Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer. “What you have seen and heard should leave no doubt that Windows 8 shatters the perception of what a PC really is ... It works perfect for work and play and it is alive with your world.”

Microsoft announced that Windows 8 is available in 37 languages and 140 worldwide markets. The company is also launching a version called Windows RT, designed for tablets and available pre-installed on new devices including its own Surface tablet.

According to Microsoft product team member Panos Panay, Surface is ‘the perfect expression of Windows’. “It’s exactly what Windows was designed to run on,” he said.

To show its durability, Panay dropped the device on stage, saying: “You can drop it 72 different ways.”

He also displayed some units modified as skateboards, with wheels attached, used by one team member.

Surface, which seeks to challenge Apple’s market-ruling iPads and rivals built on Google’s Android software, will be among Windows-powered devices sold at Microsoft ‘pop up’ stores in the US and Canada.

The news comes two days after Apple introduced its iPad Mini in a bid to crowd out lower-priced offerings by rivals Amazon, Google and Samsung.

Surface – a late entry in the market – has a 10.6-inch screen and starts at $499 (BD188), challenging the larger-format iPads.

However, Surface appears to be a cross between a tablet and a PC, equipped with a flip-out rear ‘kickstand’ to prop it up like a picture frame and a cover that, when opened, acts as a keypad to switch into desktop mode for work tasks.

It launches in a crowded market for tablets from Apple, Google, Amazon and others, amid forecasts that global tablet sales will surpass those of PCs within a few years.

Some analysts say the Windows RT system used on Surface and other devices offers Microsoft a chance for a fresh start in controlling both hardware and software in a single device.

The software giant gambled by changing long familiar user interface features to make Windows 8 compatible with trends toward keeping programmes and data in the internet ‘cloud’ and relying on mobile gadgets at work and at home.

Windows, the first version of which was launched in the 1990s, remains the dominant PC platform with some 90 per cent of the world market. But in the mobile world, it is struggling against Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android system.

Microsoft reported that pre-sales of Windows 8 have outstripped those of its predecessor by 40 per cent.

The Redmond, Washington, company next week will provide details on its new Windows Phone 8 operating system designed for its push into the smartphone market.

Analysts say the real test will come during the crucial year-end holiday shopping season when a new gadget competition will reach fever-pitch.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has already taken a swipe at Microsoft’s Windows 8-based Surface tablet.

“I haven’t personally played with the Surface yet, but what we’re reading about it, is that it’s a fairly compromised, confusing product,” he said. “I suppose you could design a car that flies and floats, but I don’t think it would do all of those things very well.”