Today during Microsoft’s keynote at Computex Taipei 2013, the world’s second largest computer show, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft’s OEM division Nick Parker reinforced the potential the Windows platform can offer for partners. As part of the keynote, Windows CFO and CMO Tami Reller joined him onstage and shared the ongoing progress we’re seeing with Windows 8 and what that means in terms of opportunities for the ecosystem.
Antoine Leblond, corporate vice president of Windows program management joined Tami and other top Microsoft executives on stage to give our very first public demo of the upcoming Windows 8.1 update – touching upon many of the exciting improvements Antoine highlighted in his blog post from last week. You can see some of the highlights of what to expect in Windows 8.1 for yourself in this short demo video featuring Jensen Harris from the Windows User Experience Team:
Additionally, Tami announced that Outlook 2013 RT will be coming to Windows RT tabletsas part of Windows 8.1. Windows running on ARM architectures has enabled an exciting new category of mobile-first, instant-on tablets that are thin and lightweight, with amazing battery life. We know that the addition of Outlook for those using ARM-based Windows devices such as the Surface RT, Dell XPS 10, Lenovo Yoga 11, and ASUS VivoTab RT as well as new tablets to come in the future has been a popular request from consumers and businesses alike. As Tami said in her keynote address, we’ve listened and Outlook will be joining the other Office applications currently available on Windows RT, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote.
Our commitment to Windows on ARM doesn’t stop with the addition of Outlook 2013 RT. We announced a number of other enhancements with Windows 8.1, earlier this week at TechEd North America, including new manageability, networking, and security capabilities that will make Windows RT an even more compelling option for enterprises.
Tami also shared that new small screen x86 tablets including the recently announced Acer Iconia W3, will come with Office Home and Student 2013 right out of the box. For both businesses and consumers, we’re committed to making all Windows tablets, both x86 and ARM, great options for work as well as play.
We’re only weeks away from the public preview of Windows 8.1, which will be available starting June 26th.