It looks like Microsoft's attempt at making people believe that its Windows RT tablets are a better choice than an iPad haven't been bee quite successful or convincing to device makers such as HTC - the company has reportedly cancelled its upcoming 12-inch Windows RT tablet over fears that the tablet won't sell well.
Microsoft entered the tablet market years before Apple, but it failed to take advantage of the early start. And, the reason why after all this time, the company still hasn't seen the kind of success that iOS and Android tablets have been seeing, is probably the operating system that drives the tablet.
With the introduction of Windows 8, Microsoft came up with a two-prong approach to try and win the tablet war. It saw the success Apple was having with the iPad and decided that it would offer its partners and consumers two completely different versions of Windows to run on tablets. Windows 8 would be the professional Windows desktop operating system that would be touch optimized for tablets and Windows RT would be a stripped down mobile operating system that would have the look and feel of Windows 8. Good decision, right? Wrong. That's where things started to go south for the folks in Redmond.
HTC was rumored to be working on two Windows RT tablets with an expected release in the fall. However, a new report from Bloomberg claims that HTC has cancelled its plans for 12-inch Windows RT tablet over fears of weak demand. According to Bloomberg's sources, HTC felt that the tablet would be too expensive and Windows RT tablets just aren't seeing the kind of sales to make it worth moving forward. The 12-inch display and the components inside would force HTC to charge customers a more expensive price than other smaller Windows RT tablets currently on the market, like Microsoft's Surface RT and ASUS' VivoTab RT.
HTC will now reportedly deliver a 7-inch Windows RT tablet alongside a very similar 7-inch Android tablet in the fall. It seems like HTC is taking Microsoft's two-prong approach with its tablets as well. Unfortunately for Microsoft, one of those doesn't run Windows and could be a signal that Microsoft needs to reconsider its tablet dreams.
