Microsoft has confirmed that it expects Windows 8 to reach consumers by the end of October. The company's Chief Financial Officer Tami Reller revealed at its annual Worldwide Partner Conference that Windows 8 "is on track to Release to Manufacturing (RTM) the first week of August".
While some enterprise users may get the full version as early as August, computers running Windows 8 or the ARM-based Windows RT will only be available starting in October. This means that we can expect Microsoft's Surface for Windows RT tablet to debut sometime that month, too. However, the x86 version of the Surface will only be launched a few months after the Windows 8 launch.
Those who have bought a Windows 7 PC after June 2 are eligible for a US$14.99 upgrade to Windows 8. Microsoft has also announced a US$40 upgrade to the upcoming OS for users of Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7.
Both upgrade schemes are available in the following Asia Pacific countries: Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
Microsoft announced Windows 8 will reach general availability by the end of October after releasing to manufacturing (RTM) on the first week of August. Will you be upgrading to Windows 8 (from Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7) for $39.95 when it comes out?
At the annual worldwide partner conference organized by Microsoft Corp., its chief marketing officer and chief financial officer Tami Reller unveiled new details regarding Windows 8 and its general availability. For the first time, Microsoft confirmed plans to release next-gen operating system to manufacturing in August and make it available to consumers by the end of October.
Tami Reller confirmed that Windows 8 is on track to release to manufacturing (RTM) the first week of August. For enterprise customers with software assurance benefits, they will have full access to Windows 8 bits as early as August. Windows 8 will reach general availability by the end of October. This means that new Windows 8 and Windows RT PCs will be available to buy and upgrades will be available starting in October. Windows 8 will be available in 109 languages across 231 markets worldwide.
In addition, the high-ranking executive at Microsoft said that so far more than 630 million Windows 7 licenses have been sold to date and that more than half of enterprise desktops today are running Windows 7.
Microsoft Windows 8 operating system will be available in three versions. Two versions will be designed for x86 processors and one will be aimed at ARM-powered systems. All three will support touch-screen, keyboard and mouse, all general capabilities of Windows and Metro-style apps. The version for ARM will also include touch-optimized versions of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote, but will not run Windows applications designed for x86 processors.
Up until now it was not really clear when Microsoft’s upcoming operating system Windows 8 would hit the stores. We have seen lots of estimates in the past based on the tidbits that Microsoft revealed about the release process. Especially the announcement that it would be available three years after Windows 7 was helpful in this regard, as it allowed us to pinpoint the release period to the last quarter of 2012.
According to Microsoft’s Tami Reller, the company will release the Windows 8 RTM in the first week of August, and the retail version at the end of October. This has just been announced at the Worldwide Partner conference in Toronto which is currently available as a Lifestream on the Digital Worldwide Partner Community website (please note that Microsoft Silverlight is required to watch the live footage).
A release in October 2012 basically means that Windows 8 will exactly be released three years after the release of Windows 7, which as we all knew has been made available in October 2009 for the very first time.
Existing Windows users from that moment on have until January 31, 2013 to take advantage of the upgrade promotion to upgrade their current version of the operating system to Windows 8 Pro. This offer is valid for all versions of Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7. Differences exist in the data that users can migrate when they upgrade to Windows 8.
All users can migrate their personal files, while Vista and Windows 7 users can migrate operating system settings, and Windows 7 users installed applications.
A release in October, or the availability of devices running Windows 8 in October, ensures that the operating system will be available for the important holiday season. It also gives us a great opportunity to compare the popularity of the operating system with its predecessor Windows 7.
What are you going to do when Windows 8 comes out? Will you take advantage of the upgrade promotion?
