Microsoft reportedly will finish work on Windows 8 by summer, setting the stage to release the next version of its flagship operating system sometime around October.
Bloomberg, citing "people with knowledge of the schedule," also reports that there will be fewer than five devices running the ARM system-on-a-chip architecture at launch. Those ARM chips allow for thinner, lighter tablet devices, something that Microsoft hopes will help it cut into Apple's iPad's huge lead in the tablet market. The Cupertino rival just disclosed that it sold more than 3 million of its latest iPad since the third-generation gadget debuted Friday.
The report confirms the timing that most analysts have been expecting. Bloomberg notes that Microsoft will lay out the details of the release schedule at an industry event in early April.
A Microsoft spokeswoman declined comment on the report.
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