The initial rollout will include devices running Intel (INTC) and ARM Holdings (ARM) chips, making good on Microsoft’s promise to support both standards, said the people, who declined to be named because the plans are confidential.
In embracing ARM technology, Microsoft is using the same kind of processors as Apple Inc.’s iPad. Still, there will be fewer than five ARM devices in the debut, compared with more than 40 Intel machines.
The timing would let Microsoft target Christmas shoppers with the new software, which works with touch-screen devices as well as laptops and desktop PCs.
The company, which has not announced timing for the Windows 8 release, aims to take back sales lost to the iPad and reinvigorate the sluggish PC market. Apple already begun to one up competition early this after the company released the third version of the iPad this month, posing an even stiffer challenge to Microsoft.
Despite optimism from the company, some technology news sources have reported mixed feelings on the upcoming OS. Already Microsoft has seen continuously buggy systems on the vista and Windows 7, and according to one engineer, the Windows 8 platform could already be flawed, particularly the GUI.
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