Smaller Windows 8 devices are arriving in the coming months. How do we know? Well, Microsoft just said as much.
During its third quarter fiscal year 2013 earnings call today, CFO Peter Klein talked about Microsoft's plans to offer devices through its OEMs that hit more attractive price points as the year unfolds.
"As part of this, we are also working closely with OEMs on a new suite of small touch devices powered by Windows," he said. "These devices will have competitive price points partly enabled by our latest OEM offerings designed specifically for these smaller devices, and will become available in the coming months."
Klein didn't talk about Microsoft's own plans to self-produce smaller, touch-enabled devices, though with the recent reports that have surfaced about a 7-inch Windows tablet cooking, there's a good chance we're only months away from a smaller Surface hitting store shelves.
Staying Surface strong
Last month, Microsoft revised its display resolution requirements for OEMs, taking the number from 1366 x 768 to 1024 x 769, meaning a 7- to 8-inch Windows 8 device could be built with the proper resolution.
Microsoft readily admitted during the call that it was affected by the decline in the PC market, but Klein said it's also "working to increase [its] share in tablets." There are more niches for Microsoft to fill in the tablet space, so we expect some new-sized models to land before long.
Now, we're taking small to mean 7 inches, but what about something even smaller, like say, a watch? That's likely a ways from release, but it doesn't hurt to dream.
The company did report a growth of revenue, racking in an adjusted US$18.8 billion, though the Windows division stayed flat. Net income sat at US$6.06 billion.
Looking ahead, Klein spoke about the release of Windows Blue, which he said "further advances the vision of Windows 8 as well as response to customer feedback." The company also plans to improve the user experience of Windows 8 across not just Surface, but also to a broad array of price points going forward.
The last half of this year will also bring competitively priced Intel Bay Trail-based products, Microsoft said.
