Microsoft officially launched the consumer preview version of Windows 8 at Mobile World Congress 2012 in Barcelona.
The operating system comes with many new features, including touch computing, and could be Microsoft’s biggest product release yet. []
It looks like Microsoft may be able to meet its original Windows 8 launch date of around mid-2012, avoiding any supposed delays.
Windows 8 will compete with Apple and Linux-based operating systems in the desktop space, and Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android in the tablet operating system market.
Check out our full Microsoft analysis
Windows 8: Microsoft’s biggest launch yet
We expect Windows 8 to be a bigger hit than Windows 7, which has sold around 550 million licenses to date. Microsoft has also launched a beta version of the Windows App Store with Windows 8. This will be the central Windows software repository and will allow users to access all available software from a single location. The Windows App Store could become a billion-dollar business in its own right, thanks to the success of Apple’s App Store.
Windows 8 offers a host of new features and will target the traditional desktop and laptop market as well as the tablet market. Since Google’s Android has yet to capture the tablet market, Microsoft’s only real competitor here is Apple, and it should be able to capture a significant market share after the official launch of Windows 8. Windows 8 also comes with Xbox integration and is also integrated with SkyDrive, which is Microsoft’s version of Apple’s iCloud.
Windows is nearly 25% of Microsoft’s $36 Trefis price estimate, nearly 15% above its current market price. It dominates the desktop and laptop operating system markets, and we expect it to gain significant market share in the tablet operating system market in the next couple of years as well.
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