Microsoft's Ashley Highfield says no dedicated tablet OS until the time is right

[wraggster]

In an interview with Pocket-lint, Microsoft UK's Ashley Highfield said the company won't be delivering a dedicated OS for tablets anytime soon. "We won't do anything in the tablet market unless we can be distinctive," he said. Given, we've already seen a number of slates rocking Windows 7 (http://www.engadget.com/tag/windows7,tablet), but Highfield was apparently tight-lipped about any solid plans to move into the tablet market in any substantial way, saying Microsoft sees itself as an underdog in certain areas. As far as we know, Highfield made no mention of how this relates to Windows Compact 7 (http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/03/microsoft-windows-embedded-compact-7-tablet-prototype-hands-on/), which we've seen in prototype form in the past. Of course, all of this is coming from the guy who warned of the impending death (http://hd.engadget.com/2009/09/01/microsofts-ashley-highfield-sees-the-end-of-tv-as-we-know-it/) of television as we know it, but we're inclined to believe him on this one. On another note, Microsoft's UK managing director said he gets his tablet fix on a Dell Inspiron Duo (http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/30/dell-inspiron-duo-review/) -- we suppose it's a good sign he's not rocking an Android or iOS tab.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/19/microsofts-ashley-highfield-says-no-dedicated-tablet-os-until-t/