Microsoft Internet Explorer 9, The year 2011 has been a very memorable year for Microsoft. The company posted record revenue for the June-ended fiscal year and sold out a whopping 500 million copies of its Windows 7. However, when it comes to new product release, it was not a good year for the Redmond based software giant. Notwithstanding Office 365 and Internet Explorer 9, Microsoft has no more new product releases in 2011. But, next year seems to be more dynamic for Microsoft. The company has plans to launch many groundbreaking products in 2012 like Windows 8 OS, an Apple App store -like Windows Web store, Windows 8 tablets and many other products. Here we discuss five much-craved Microsoft products for next year.
Windows 8 is Microsoft’s next major update to its Windows operating system for PCs. Microsoft launched Windows 7 three years back. The computer world is now looking for the next biggest update for the OS. Microsoft previewed Windows 8 at Computex Taipei, 2011 and it will realize mid next year. The new Windows OS will support ARM chips, so it will run on both tablets and personal computers alike. The famous Metro-style user interface, fast web browser Internet Explorer 10 and a dedicated app store will boost Windows 8.
Internet Explorer 10, successor to IE9 is under development at Microsoft. The company released the first IE10 Platform Preview in April at the MIX 11 conference in Las Vegas and it will come live on Windows 8 next year. Along with the Metro UI of Windows 8, IE10 will work quite marvelously. The new version of Internet Explorer will bring you a fast internet experience with lots of features over its predecessor.
To compete with Apple App Store and Android Market, Microsoft has announced a state of the art app store for Windows. The company has made a revolutionary announcement that its Windows 8 app store would support open source apps from third party developers. The Redmond software firm, which is known for its closed software development approach, has taken such a decision to enrich its app store with more apps. Windows 8 app store will deliver apps for both tablets and personal computers.
Microsoft has just hinted its plan to integrate its Xbox gaming console with live TV. So as to make its Xbox system more useful, the company will update look of its Xbox Live service with a Metro-style look. Moreover, users of Verizon’s Fios cable TV service can choose between 26 various channels on their Xbox gaming device. The channels include HBO, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central. Many other TV shows will also appear on Xbox.
Every one may have heard about Microsoft’s plan to launch its own tablets with its tablet-friendly Windows 8 OS update. Raising direct competition to Androids and Apple iPad, Microsoft is to design its own Windows 8-based tablets. But, analysts have expressed doubt in the chance for success for Windows 8 tablets. Global tablet customers have already embraced iPad and Android tablets; so there is less chance that a new platform from Microsoft will gain momentum.
According to reports, Microsoft is working with a project to launch a social media site, dubbed Social in fight against both Facebook and Google+. After making a space in web searching with Bing, the Redmond technology firm seems to work out a challenging social media site. Analysts are also cynical of the need for one more social media site, especially when Google+ itself has not made any influence. Anyway, Microsoft has better reasons to come with such a platform.
Of course, Microsoft has to take some brave decisions to remain competitive in the tech market today. In a time desktop computers are replaced by tablets, the company will have to do many more things to remain a big player. Indeed, next year will be a bit crucial for the company, “Next year will be altogether different. Microsoft is prepping the big kahuna of its product arsenal, Windows 8. The company hasn’t set a date, though most analysts expect the flagship operating system to debut before the end of the year,” says Jay Greene of CNET while listing out five things to look for in 2012 for Microsoft.








