A Microsoft-Branded Tablet Makes Sense, as Well as Enemies

Much has been said about why Microsoft should come up with its own tablet.

The reason most cited by IT columnists, bloggers, and all the other usual suspects is that by offering its own tablet computer, Microsoft can have control over the tablet's design and features, and most importantly, all aspects of the user experience.

Microsoft will launch its own tablet on Monday, some analysts claim.

Think of what Apple has done with the iPad — despotic control over everything about the world's most popular tablet computer. And consumers, millions of them, seem to love being told what to do. They love having no choice, apparently.

Download apps only from Apple's online market and from nowhere else. Yes, sir. Do you want that with mayonnaise or ketchup?

A Microsoft-branded tablet will help the software giant grow its app ecosystem faster, market observers say.

Proponents of Microsoft-should-build-its-own-tablet assert that having control over the hardware would make the process simpler, and make it easier for the software giant to design Windows specifically for the tablet platform.

Microsoft, they say, needs to realize that it needs to have its own tablet, with the software company having the final say on both hardware and software specs, if it wants to really compete with Apple's iPad-based onslaught in the tablet market.

Microsoft can also greatly enhance Windows Phone smartphones' fighting chance by releasing its own tablet, pundits are saying.

A Microsoft-branded tablet will also enable the Redmond-based software vendor to speed up the development of its app ecosystem, which most observers think is one of the factors limiting its Windows Phone platform from gaining a meaningful foothold on the mobile market. So, in a way, a Microsoft tablet will also help push the company's smartphone efforts.

Should Microsoft indeed decide to come up with its own tablet, how would it avoid displeasing its hardware vendors? Most of these companies, such as HP and Dell, have been developing and selling computers loaded with Microsoft's Windows operating system. Should Microsoft risk antagonizing them?

Some analysts claim Microsoft can significantly reduce the risk of alienating partner PC vendors by releasing only tablets that run Windows 8 for ARM processors, also known as Windows RT. This would help Microsoft avoid competing directly with hardware vendors that it had convinced to develop tablets powered by x86 processors and are designed to run the desktop-friendly version of Windows 8.

Would Microsoft's desire to strike at Apple's tablet market reign blind the company to the risks that come with potentially antagonizing Windows PC vendors?