Microsoft Planning Tablet Entry For 2012

Microsoft may have a new philosophy for its mobile operating systems: Better late than never.

As Bloomberg Businessweek reports, Microsoft isn't in any big rush to enter the tablet market. According to sources, the company isn't planning on releasing its competitor to iOS and Android until late 2012 -- over two years after the iPad made its debut.

Microsoft had a similar late start with its Windows Phone 7 operating system, which the company did not launch until October 2010. Apple by that point had released four iterations of its iPhone and Google's Android operating system had reached its third.

That late entry point has posed problems for Windows Phone 7, which still lacks basic features like copy and paste functionality. Similar concerns are likely to follow Microsoft as it makes its entry into the tablet market. A Windows tablet OS would also face considerable challenges establishing and building its own app ecosystem, a task that even Google has had trouble with.

News of Microsoft's tablet ambitions comes as tablet sales have begun to cannibalize those of their PC counterparts. PC shipment projects have been downgraded in recent weeks as consumers begin to increase their tablet purchases.

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