At Microsoft’s annual Financial Analyst Meeting on Thursday, the company’s CEO Steve Ballmer said that the form factor that Microsoft plans for the tablet devices is its Windows operating system; and revealed that the shipping of the Windows-powered devices will commence “as soon as they are ready.”

Expressing an implicit dismay over the robust sales of the Apple iPad, Ballmer reiterated yet again that, for the company, tablets are merely another form factor – with a regular PC operating system stuck on a laptop and given a touchscreen; and the keyboard and the pixel-perfect pointing device withdrawn from it!

It is hardly surprising that the so-called Tablet PC concept has, by and large, failed to make a mark thus far, chiefly because most of the Tablet PCs have had all the size and weight of conventional laptops; and have been featuring all the software of regular laptops, sans the human interface devices to accentuate their usefulness.

The astounding success of the iPad, however, is rooted in the fact that it is a conveniently-sized, highly portable, long-lasting media-consumption device, which is perfect not just for browsing the Internet and reading e-mail, but also for looking at photos, playing music and videos, as well as casual gaming.

As such, if the tablet devices running Microsoft’s Windows have to find a footing, they need to allow the full range and flexibility of PC hardware; along with all the latest software capabilities.