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Microsoft has reportedly been toying with its
followers on Twitter by posting images of a forthcoming product on the social
networking site.
The technology giant’s division responsible for hardware created a Twitter
account at the end of July and promptly started to post cropped images of its
new gadget.
The images have quickly whipped up a storm of speculation amongst industry
commentators that it could be the company’s answer to Apple’s tablet device,
the iPad.
Apple’s touch screen device bridges the gap between the iPhone and a laptop,
and although it only hit the streets several months ago, has already
established itself as a must-have gadget. As well as using the device as a
conventional laptop, iPad owners are able to download any of the thousands of
applications developed for the iPhone.
As well as earning Apple a mountain of cash, the device has also produced a
surge in the demand for gadget insurance as people find that, apart from it
being a trendy device to be seen with, it is a lightweight alternative to
carrying a laptop around.
Microsoft’s teaser image showed a corner of the unnamed hardware, which had the
company’s name printed across the casing.
The cropped picture was accompanied by the tweet:
“Here’s the first piece to the puzzle of our
next product release. What could it be? More clues to come!”
Since this initial blog, the company tweeted
another playful message:
“Don’t be so touchy...flat is where it’s at.”
Following this, another picture was published along with a pledge to release
more soon to give Microsoft’s followers a better idea of what the hardware was.
Many of the comments made about the images are
conjecture about it being a tablet device. Steve Ballmer, chief executive for
Microsoft said recently that one of the firm’s immediate goals was to develop a
device to compete with the iPad. A dual screen, touch sensitive prototype model
codenamed the Courier was abandoned earlier in 2010.
Although industry analysts are waiting with baited breath, not all of
Microsoft’s fans were impressed. One Twitter user named Achimvogel commentated:
“It’s something Apple already did”
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