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Windows 8 on a tablet.(Credit:Rafe Needleman/CNET)
Microsoft may be thinking of hitting the market with its own Windows 8-brandedtablet by the end of 2012, according to sources cited by Taiwan's DigiTimes.
If the rumor eventually holds true, the company would create the tablet by partnering with Texas Instruments and various Taiwanese equipment manufacturers to supply the hardware.
CNET's request for comment to Microsoft was not immediately returned.
The new tablet reportedly would borrow Microsoft's branding strategies from such products as the hugely successfulXbox 360, the lacklusterZune media player, and the very short-lived Kin smartphone.
Microsoft would move forward on the tablet using a "low profile" and would still work with other vendors to roll out their own Windows 8 tablets, according to the report. Though other vendors may be a bit miffed that Microsoft would launch its own branded tablet, the DigiTimes sources say that's not likely to have any impact on the folks in Redmod over the short term.
The computing giant has already stirred up some complaints. Last week, Acer's president and CEO criticized Microsoft for placing "troublesome" restrictions on Windows 8 tablet makers by limiting how many of them can receive chips from Intel, AMD, Texas Instruments, and the other companies providing processors for the new tablets.
Microsoft demoed its Windows 8 for tablets at last week's D9 conference, though tablets based on the new OS are not likely to start shipping until next year.
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