Is it too Late for Microsoft to Join the Tablet Race?

A new survey report by Forrester Research shows consumer interest in a Windows 8 tablet has fallen dramatically from 46% to 25%. Microsoft has plans to put out a touchscreen tablet running the company’s new OS in autumn 2012, but this may prove too late for buyers.

Already cheaper tablets like the Amazon Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble Nook have elbowed their way into the market, so will there be room for Microsoft? This is not to mention new competition from Apple’s iPad3 that is set to hit stores in spring.

It’s a bad situation for Microsoft, especially when you consider that Bill Gates introduced the first tablet PC over ten years ago, which never flourished in the tablet market.