Jun 15, 2011 15:31 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft could release Windows 8 to market months ahead of the three years anniversary of Windows 7’s launch, according to a company executive. The Redmond company has yet to confirm officially a general availability deadline for Windows 8, but the software giant has offered a few hints as to when users should expect the platform to hit store shelves.

From the get go the plan was to launch Windows 8 within three years after Windows 7’s GA.

Dan'l Lewin, Corporate Vice President, Strategic and Emerging Business Development re-confirmed the fact that the Redmond company is right on track to TechRadar

"We will be in market - if you look at the crystal ball and just say what happened in the past is a reasonable indicator of what our forward looking timelines will be and just speculate - we've made the point about having a developer conference later this year, and then typically we enter a beta phase, and then in 12 months we're in the market, so let's make that assumption," Lewin said.

The quote above can be interpreted to infer that Windows 8’s availability will happen sometime in the fall of 2012, possibly September.

In mid-September 2011 Microsoft will provide the first complete insight into Windows 8 at the BUILD conference, the evolution of the Professional Developers Conference.

Rumors indicate that the software giant is also planning to release the public Beta of Windows 8 later this year, perhaps even at BUILD, with the company completely mute on the matter.

The way I see it, Windows 8 GA in fall 2012 is certainly something that could become reality.

Recently, Steven Sinofsky, President, Windows and Windows Live Division noted that releasing Windows 8 within two or three years after Windows 7 would be satisfactory for Microsoft.

But if Windows 7’s development process is followed for Windows 8, I suspect that Microsoft is going to provide a pre-Beta Windows 8 milestone at BUILD, then the fully-fledged public Beta at a later date.

Still, this scenario would leave plenty of time for Windows 8 to be released to manufacturing sometime in the summer of 2012 and hit commercial availability a few months later, but certainly sooner than Windows 7’s three years anniversary.