Or, MS is saying to OEMs "you cannot blackmail us with Android, because we will make our own". It is hardly a secret that, outside of Nokia, other OEMs did Windows Phone 7 just as "mee-too", but without much enthysiasm. I think MS simply tried to avoid this repeating with tablets. I think they are also trying to set standards and avoid/minimize market being overtaken by low quality product that would, on the long run, have more potential to damage than to benefit platform. It is a message to OEMs: If you want to sell this, you'll have to be at least as good as we are.
Re competition, it is normal in Windows market. MS does keyboards and mice, so does anyone else making PCs. So does Logitech, Genius, Cherry, Razer, Steel Series, Corsair... none of them gave up on making Windows PC peripherals just because MS does.
yeah but this is very different. MS does not make its own desktops or laptops.
if by some miracle W8 tablets become popular, the OEM's will crank out their own models eventually. but right now MS has iced the market, unless they price theirs at premium levels leaving room for others to hit a lower price market tier. and MS is charging them $85 for a license! so very few OEM's are going to take a risk on Windows tablets this year. we might see some OEM models for Xmas, but the production runs will be small.
of course, Redmond may already have already realized there was very little OEM interest in W8 anyway, and thus decided to go it alone very recently. this whole event had a feeling of being rushed and half-baked.
