• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, June 15, 2012

Despite Bill Gates’ early efforts, Microsoft has so far missed out on the tablet revolution. Now, in what would come as a shock to many, Microsoft is reportedly ready to go at tablets alone.

At a Monday event, “Microsoft [will] introduce a Microsoft-manufactured tablet at the event, marking a foray into a new hardware category that would put the company in direct competition with giant rival Apple,” reports TheWrap.com, citing sources.

“After signaling for months that it would attack the market only through its traditional hardware partners, Microsoft has decided to enter the tablet business more directly,” AllThingsD writes. “Sources say that Microsoft concluded that it needs its own tablet, with the company designing both the hardware and software in an effort to better compete against Apple’s strengths.”

In the increasingly key area of tablet, however, Web watchers seriously doubt whether Microsoft can compete again archnemesis Apple. “Microsoft has proven, in sometimes spectacular fashion, that it is not great at producing and marketing its own consumer hardware,” PCWorld reminds us. As ready example, the Zune and the Kin come to mind.

“Hopefully, whatever the firm announces will last longer than the Zune,” Engadget jokes. “Yes, Microsoft has had hits like the Xbox, Xbox 360, and Kinect, but a success in console gaming doesn't necessarily mean you're able to make a tablet that competes with the iPad,” PCWorld adds.

“Microsoft is already building up Windows 8 and Windows RT to be strong tablet operating systems, but it will need support from hardware manufacturers to truly make them a success,” writes VentureBeat. “By building its own tablet, Microsoft would be directly competing against other Windows tablet makers -- something that didn’t work out too well for Microsoft’s ‘Play for Sure’ device partners when the Zune was released.”