14 DAY TRIAL // A few weeks ago, Microsoft unveiled to the world Surface, its own tablet PCs running under the Windows 8 operating system.
Two such devices were announced, one powered by Windows 8 Pro and the other running under Windows RT, and they both took Microsoft’s OEM partners by surprise.
However, Bill Gates, former Microsoft CEO and the company’s founder, says that the Redmond-based software giant did well to launch its own devices.
In fact, he believes that this would be the right way to approach the current market, through both supporting partners and delivering proprietary hardware.
Bill Gates was a guest on Charlie Rose on Monday, when he said that Microsoft did well in the past through adopting a different marketing approach than Apple, but that the latest developments in the company are also welcome.
“I actually believe you can have the best of both worlds. You can have a rich eco-system of manufacturers and you can have a few signature devices that show off, wow, what's the difference between a tablet and a PC?” he said, BusinessInsider reports.
Moreover, he noted that tablet PCs running under the new Windows 8 operating system, including Microsoft’s own Surface devices, are bound to replace the traditional PCs soon.
"You can get everything you like about a tablet, everything you like [about] a PC, all in one device. That should change the way people look at things,” Bill Gates said.
Windows 8 is expected to become available for purchase this fall on devices coming from leading manufacturers such as HP, Dell, Asus, Lenovo and more.
The Surface tablets should land on shelves at around the same time, Microsoft announced, adding that they will be priced similarly with ultrabooks and rival tablet PCs today.
While no specific info on any Windows 8 slates has been unveiled so far, rumor has it that they would cost above the $600 price point, and that some of them might even reach or top $1,000.