Gartner: Windows 8 on 4% Tablet PCs This Year

In 2012, Microsoft’s Windows 8 platform could gain as much as four percent of the tablet PC market, a recent report from Gartner suggests.

While this figure might seem very small, it will certainly be influenced by the late launch of the platform, supposedly set to become commercially available only in October.

Windows 8 is the first platform version from Microsoft to arrive with optimizations for use on slates, but is expected to be a game changer.

When debuting later this year, the operating system will be available on both x86 and ARM architectures, while capable of providing users with a familiar workspace.

Microsoft already announced partnerships with a great deal of hardware makers for the launch of the new platform, but has yet to confirm specific info on devices.

Before that, however, the company is providing users with a taste of the features and capabilities packed in the upcoming OS version through the recently released pre- and beta versions dubbed Developer and Consumer Preview.

Although launched only in the fourth quarter of the year, tablet PCs powered by Windows 8 are still expected to pick up steam fast. The image below, available via TechCrunch, offers a view of Gartners prevision on sales of Windows 8 slate units.

The entire tablet PC market will expand in the coming years, and Windows 8 will remain behind rival iOS and Android, the research firm notes, cited by Reuters. This year alone, the tablet PC segment should double, with Apple’s iPad leading the pack.

Windows 8 will provide users with a consistent experience across different type of devices, and will also be accompanied by an application storefront for users to benefit from.

However, it will be slightly different on ARM architecture, where it will not offer support for the desktop mode, potentially a deal breaker for many Windows users.

On x86 architectures, however, Windows 8 will also provide support for legacy applications, and will come with the desktop mode enabled.

Although it might not gain too much ground on the tablet segment, the platform will also be released with support for traditional computers, which should help it gain share on the overall OS market.