Microsoft Won’t Announce A Tablet Made By Barnes & Noble Today

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Today, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) will make an official announcement although nobody knows what the announcement will be about. It was initially rumored that the company planned to announce a Nook-like tablet computer but Dow Jones Newswires confirmed that Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS) (the maker behind the popular Android-based Nook tablet) will not be a part of the event.

This rumor contradicted with another rumor that Microsoft was going to create their own tablet computer or e-reader with Windows 8 operating system while other rumors have indicated that they will introduce  Xbox Media Tablet. The company will make their official announcement later on today at 3:30 pm Pacific Standard Time.

We obviously don’t know what the official announcement will be but it seems that everyone assumes Microsoft is going to introduce yet another tablet computer. Given their history in the mobile market (including cell phones and tablets), launching another similar product would probably not fare so well for the company. For now, they should stick with what they know best: personal computers and Xbox video games.

If they decide to launch a tablet computer now or in the near future, it would be very interesting to see if Microsoft linked it with Xbox, their popular gaming console. And while I highly doubt that it could compete with the formidable iPad, but I think that it could possibly stand on it’s own as a smart tablet alternative, especially for serious gamers who want to take their entertainment on the go.

Except for the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad, most tablet computers are a dime a dozen. To try and create a new tablet PC in a market that’s already saturated with forgettable devices, it’s a risk that’s obviously not worth making. The good news is that although the iPad has essentially taken over the mobile computer market, I really don’t feel as if the tablet is going to become a laptop replacement.

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