Microsoft could unveil its answer to Apple's iPad in time for Christmas, the software giant's chief executive, Steve Ballmer, told students at the London School of Economics. Microsoft is under tremendous pressure to do something to compete with the extraordinary success of the iPad, which recently became the fastest-selling electronic device of all time and is threatening to eat into sales of PCs that run Microsoft software. Will Microsoft's slate computer be able to take on Apple? (Watch a Fox Business discussion about Microsoft's future)
No, Microsoft's slate will be no match for the iPad: Microsoft may well release a tablet PC running Windows by Christmas, says Ina Fried at CNET, but something that "truly can rival Apple's iPad" is still a way off. "What makes the iPad unique isn't its shape." It is the extraordinary battery life and "instant-on experience." To compete with that, Microsoft needs to revamp both its hardware and software — and that won't be done in time for the holidays.
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