Even though Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is expected to unveil a demo of a new Windows tablet UI in June 2011, the lack of support at this time from app developers could result in a real viable alternative to Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad not being available until the latter part of 2012.
Responding to what is being called an overly optimistic outlook by JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) analyst Adam Holt, who said Microsoft was "closer to competitive" on tablets than "some realize," a source with detailed knowledge of Microsoft's development process said this is overly optimistic. Here are the reasons:
•The fact that 1,000 developers are on the project says nothing about delivery time. It proves that Microsoft is taking the tablet market seriously, but there's very little correlation between the number of people on a software development project and time to market.
•According to this source, Microsoft has not yet started sharing technical information about the Windows-ARM port with the companies who need low-level access to Windows to write things like device drivers and antivirus software.
•Microsoft has not yet scheduled a Professional Developers' Conference (PDC) to introduce developers to the new tablet platform. The company typically schedules a PDC whenever it needs to evangelize and share information with developers about an upcoming platform.
Because people buy tablets for apps and not its operating system, Microsoft will have its work cut out for itself in the sector, as it'll take time to rewrite apps built for Windows using a new touch interface.
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