Windows 8, that crazy, mobile-inspired revamp of Microsoft’s desktop operating system, will be getting a full public beta release in February. That’s according to sources close to The Next Web, and it gives us a clue as to when we might see the final version released.

According to TNW’s multiple sources, the Windows 8 public beta will be released in late February next year. Windows 8 is a major redesign of Microsoft’s cash cow, designed to run on ARM-powered tablets as well as Intel PC chips, and features a grid-like “Metro” interface that first appeared on the company’s Windows Phone 7 software for mobiles.

8 reasons Windows 8 has us excited

A developer preview of Windows 8 is already available for those keen to test it out, but the name says it all: it’s for developers. A Windows 8 public beta will be open for everyone to use, as Microsoft gears up for what could be its biggest gamble yet. It also tells us when we might see a commercial release.

Cast your minds back to early 2009: Microsoft made a public beta release of Windows 7 available in January of that year, with the full release in October. If Redmond sticks to that schedule, we could see a February 2012 Windows 8 public beta release, followed by a November launch, just in time to get it on laptops for the Christmas buying rush.

As for whether Windows 8 will be the paradigm busting OS we so badly need, we’ll just have to find out in a few months’ time. Check out Windows 8 in the video below and stay tuned for plenty more coverage.

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  • http://twitter.com/mactoc1 mactoc

    Wp7 has failed.
    Even Samsung Bada OS outsells wp7

  • notscaredofchange

    It’s quite scary to one day realise Microsoft has
    re-invented itself as an innovative company. With the launch of wp7 they’ve
    taken a new a new direction, one that is probably too far out to gain quick success.  What Microsoft is busy doing with WP7 and
    windows 8 would ultimately bridge the gap between mobile phones, PC, tablet and
    cloud, making the transition between office and home seamless…quite brilliant.  Now they have to wait for people to stop
    being afraid of change.  This will probably
    not happen in the next year or so, but as competitors start following Microsoft’s
    way of thinking, they will be 2-3 years behind and realise they will have to
    compete on Microsoft’s terms, or come up with the next wave of innovation.  Either way, change will happen…it is the way technology works…question
    is, do you want to stay hooked to a aging platform (and way of thinking), or do
    you embrace the new and move to something that have already matched the
    competition and have much of it’s growth still to come. 

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