Michael Dell: Windows 8 on tablets “pretty encouraging” in early going

Michael Dell, on Dell’s earnings call yesterday, via Seeking Alpha:

We’re still quite interested in Android. I’ll also tell you that our early work on Windows 8 on the tablet side looks to be pretty encouraging. And so, we think it’s shaping up to be a competitive environment. I don’t think beyond those 2 that there are viable alternatives that make sense. So there’s a lot of other noise out there in the market that I don’t think will amount to much of anything.

Of course, this is what hardware makers like Dell want — a competitive environment, so they have some leverage over their suppliers.

But let’s wait and see if there’s anything about Windows 8 tablets that consumers want to buy. Neither Microsoft nor Google — nor anyone but Apple — has accomplished that yet. (And it must feel nice for Michael Dell to be able to dismiss archrival HP’s TouchPad, which is selling terribly, as “other noise.”)

The good news for Microsoft is that it looks like sliding into the no. 2 spot in tablets is still anyone’s game, because everyone else has done such an unremarkable job.

Follow-up: Amazingly, Microsoft might not miss the boat on tablets