• November 29, 2011

Microsoft may have already missed the tablet train.

According to a new Forrester report (as reported by TechCrunch), consumer interest in a Windows tablet is way down from the beginning of the year. According to the report, 46% of consumers surveyed in the first quarter of 2011 said they would “most prefer” a Windows system on a tablet. By the third quarter of the year, that preference had dropped to 25%, down 21%. (Perhaps not surprisingly, consumer preference for Apple’s iOS was up 12%, and Google’s Android was up 9%.)

“Windows product strategists will have to overcome several disadvantages associated with being a fifth mover in the tablet market,” according to an excerpt of the report on Forrester’s Website. “Product strategists in any industry have to evaluate their potential to be ‘fast followers’: Waiting too long to follow raises the bar your product must meet to compete.”