Microsoft Could Unveil Windows 8 for Tablets Next Week

September 9th, 2011 by Trefis Team
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Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) could be showcasing Windows 8 on tablets at the BUILD conference on September 13. [1] Samsung will be building the first prototype tablet for Windows 8 which will be showcased at the conference. With Windows 8, Microsoft hopes to recreate the kind of success that Windows 7 saw that surpassed 400 million in sales while tapping into the tablet market. Microsoft’s Windows OS offering competes mainly with Mac OS X by Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Linux based operating systems.

The Windows division is one of the main revenue generators for Microsoft and accounts for about 25% of its Trefis price estimate. We currently have a $28 Trefis price estimate for Microsoft, which implies a near 10% upside to the current market price.

With Windows 8, Microsoft Could Gain Significant Market Share in Tablets

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While there have been attempts to launch tablets before, most notably by Microsoft itself, they have largely failed. However, in 2010, Apple launched the iPad which was a runaway hit and created a whole new market for tablets, or post-PC devices. Gartner predicts that more than 300 million tablets will be sold by 2015. [2]

Apple has more than 80% of the tablet market share currently with Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android coming second. HP (NYSE:HPQ) recently discontinued its Touchpad tablets and RIM’s (NASDAQ:RIMM) Blackberry Playbook has seen dismal sales. Android hasn’t seen as much success with tablets as it has with smartphones and so this could leave a window open for Microsoft to gain traction in the tablet market.

If Microsoft moves fast, it could potentially capture a meaningful portion of the tablet market in the next couple of years. Manufacturers are looking for alternatives to Android, which could help them beat the iPad. Windows 8 will be launched for tablets as well as computers and will support both the X86 and ARM architectures.

Windows 8 will also offer better integration with Windows Phone 7, and together, they will offer a complete ecosystem just like Apple’s Mac OS X and iOS, which should make it the platform of choice for hardware manufacturers looking for a non-Apple unified solution.

With the growth in the personal computing space slowing down, tablets are the new market that offer tremendous growth potential. With Windows 8, Microsoft has a chance to capture significant market share before it’s too late.

Check out our complete price analysis for Microsoft.

Notes:
  1. Microsoft lines up its big swing at tablets, Reuters, September 7, 2011 [↩]
  2. iPad to Dominate Tablet Market Until 2015, ReadWriteWeb, April 2011 [↩]