Laptop Thoughts: The Road To Windows 8 Tablets Is Uphill

"Windows-based tablets haven’t been treated kindly by the test of time. Those released in the Windows XP era relied on wonky, stylus-based data entry, and even modern, touch-based tablets running Windows 7 are poor performers. Indeed, Microsoft has a troubled tablet history that the public isn’t soon to forget. This November, Forrester released a study that showed consumer interest in a Windows-based tablet dropped significantly this year. At the start of 2011, 46 percent of potential tablet owners wanted a Windows device. By Q3, that number slipped to 25 percent."

Windows has been losing a lot of ground lately. As technology advances, the need for a desktop computer, or even a laptop has become less and less so for your average consumer. While Microsoft fights in the smartphone market with Windows Phone 7, it hopes to see success in the tablet market with Windows 8. While Windows 7 tablets do exist, they have not been flying off the shelves like iPads. With iOS and Android currently dominating the market, can Microsoft become relevant? If they are willing to stay in it for the long run, I believe so. This is not the first time Microsoft has tried to make a market a three-party system. The original X-box was a gamble, and cost Microsoft a considerable amount of money, but now in its second iteration (and maybe soon to be third), the company has carved itself a sizable chunk of the console market. It might just be able to repeat that success with tablets.