Microsoft is preparing for the launch of its next-gen platform, Windows 8

Jun 6, 2012 13:01 GMT  ·  By

Today, at the Computex 2012 trade fair in Taiwan, Microsoft announced that it has sold over 600 million Windows 7 licenses since launching the product back in October 2009.

During his keynote at the conference, Microsoft's Steve Guggenheimer also showed some of the latest Windows 7 devices out there, and he also provided a glimpse at the evolution of these devices since first of them arrived on shelves.

Windows 7 computers came a long way since October 2009, but they will slowly start being replaced with newer devices this fall, when the next version of Microsoft’s platform arrives, Windows 8.

You can have a look at the aforementioned “evolution of Windows 7 computers” in the video embedded below.

According to Microsoft, 39 percent of Internet connected devices all around the world are currently powered by Windows 7. The platform is selling slower than it did a year ago, or the year before, but it might continue to sell well even after the launch of Windows 8, that’s for sure.

For Microsoft, 600 million Windows 7 users represent a similarly large number of possible upgraders to Windows 8.

In fact, the company has already said that Windows 7 is the best path to Windows 8, and that users purchasing a new Windows 7 device in the next half a year or so will be able to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro at a discounted rate.

Microsoft hardware partners already showcased some early Windows 8 hardware designs, suggesting that they might have them available for acquisition when the OS is made officially available.

Microsoft’s Aidan Marcuss, senior director of Windows Product Planning, took the stage at the event to provide info on how the Redmond company is ensuring that the PC ecosystem is being prepared for the availability of Windows 8.

“This is the biggest launch time in Microsoft’s history,” said Guggenheimer. “In addition to updating Windows client, Windows Server, phone and embedded platforms, there’s a massive wave of software and services coming to market that we think will delight customers, from Windows Azure, to Office 15, Xbox games, Skype and Bing.”