Bill Gates says Surface and other Windows 8 tablets can co-exist

This week at the” Charlie Rose” show, Bill Gates assured that there is room enough for both the Microsoft tablets and tablets from its partners to co-exist and grow in the market

Pallab Jyotee Hazarika, Published 07/05/2012

Bill Gates, co-founder and chairman of Microsoft, appeared on the "Charlie Rose" show this week, according to PCMAG.com. Although the hour-long interview focused mainly on the charitable work done by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Gates did discuss some tech-related matters.

Bill Gates seems to think that eventually tablets will replace normal PCs but at present, there's enough space in the market for tablets built by Microsoft as well as its OEM partners to co-exist in harmony. Gates also discussed his company's decision to come up with its own branded tablets.

Microsoft's announcement to release its own tablets, the Surface and Surface Pro got everyone wondering about the reaction by Microsoft's OEM partners towards the decision. There are even rumors about HP, which is one of Microsoft's partners, abandoning its plans for a Windows RT-based tablet that already had Qualcomm chips lined up for it.

Gates assured Rose that there is enough room for both a Microsoft branded tablet and tablets by third party manufacturers to have their own individual space in the market. Gates said:

"I actually believe you can have the best of both worlds. You can have a rich ecosystem of manufacturers and you can have a few signature devices that show off, wow, what's the difference between a tablet and a PC?

You can get everything you like about a tablet, everything you like about a PC, all in one device. That should change the way people look at things."

Gates also explained to Rose about Microsoft's next Windows 8 OS, about its tablet-friendly interface that is compatible with both the x86 processors and the ARM-based chips used in mobile devices, capable of offering the best of both.

Last Month, Microsoft has announced that the Surface RT (ARM-based) tablet will be officially launched along with Windows 8 late in October this year and three months form then, the Surface Pro will be launched. Whether the Microsoft branded tablets will give any room to other Windows 8 tablets, will have to wait till then.