Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has confirmed what many expected: Microsoft is planning to build more hardware under its own brand name. In an interview with the BBC, Ballmer said:
“Is it fair to say we’re going to do more hardware? Obviously we are… Where we see important opportunities to set a new standard, yeah we’ll dive in.”
Ballmer would not provide further details as to what this hardware might entail when prompted for further details. But his response suggested that whatever those plans are, they go beyond more accessories like mice and its Xbox gaming platform:
“We have committed ourselves on a path where we will do whatever is required from both a hardware and a software innovation perspective and the cloud innovation perspective in order to propel the vision that we have,” was all he would tell the BBC.
Up first will be the Surface for Windows 8 Pro which is scheduled for an early 2013 release. Beyond that, Microsoft could release a Surface smartphone. An earlier report suggested that Microsoft was already hard at work on the device in a bid to have it out in the first half of 2013. During a recent Reddit “Ask me Anything” session, the Microsoft Surface team also did not rule out smaller tablets.
It looks like Microsoft’s relationship with its hardware partners, already strained by the release of the Microsoft Surface, could be challenged further in the future.
Read more: BBC News