Earlier in the week Microsoft partner Maarten Visser published some pictures of a Microsoft roadmap document after he didn't realize that the unprotected document on a public Web server was intended to be covered under a non-disclosure agreement.
Though the roadmap leaves many questions unanswered, it did pin down a couple of release dates: it said that Office 15—and all the related products, such as Exchange 15, SharePoint 15, Visio 15, and Project 15—will be released in early 2013, with a beta in the second half of this year. This meshes with the company's existing promise to release an Office 15 beta in the summer. It's also consistent with rumors that Office 15 will RTM in November.
The roadmap leaves Windows 8's releases unspecified; the only Windows releases are the Windows 8 Developer Preview and Consumer Preview (released last September and this February, respectively), and the Windows XP end-of-life in 2014. However, Microsoft has previously stated explicitly that Windows on ARM will ship with Office.
If Office 15 isn't ready until 2013 then that implies that Windows on ARM can't be ready until 2013 either. And if Windows on ARM isn't ready until 2013, that in turn implies that the essentially identical Windows for Intel-compatible systems won't be ready until 2013 either.
This in turn contradicts previous rumors of retail availability in or around October. PC vendors and Intel are counting on a launch this year to reinvigorate a flagging PC market, with Intel in particular hoping to promote a second generation of Ultrabooks equipped with touch screens and Ivy Bridge processors.
Microsoft has not publicly committed to any particular release schedule for Windows 8. The company has alluded to the Windows 7 development process and release schedule, which would similarly place retail availability late third quarter or early fourth quarter of this year.
We've asked Microsoft for comment, and not heard anything back at the time of writing.
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