Microsoft could announce its own iPad-rivaling tablet on Monday

With Windows 8 coming this fall, an armada of hardware OEMs will lock their corsairs on Apple’s iPad and Amazon’s Kindle Fire. That said, it might not be enough of a challenge and if a report by The Wrap is to believed then Microsoft agrees with it. Earlier in the day, Microsoft sent out invites to the press that it would make a ‘major announcement’ on Monday. Many, thought it would be sealing the deal with social network Yammer, but The Wrap is saying that it will be a hardware announcement for a tablet. Even AllthingsD seems to concur with this report and has said that its sources point towards a tablet launch.
Apparently, Microsoft will finally break its maxim of not delving into the hardware space and will take on its own OEM partners and create an integrated hardware and software experience similar to Apple.
Of course, this might tick off OEMs and they could jump ship to Android, but OEMs have already tasted failure with Android in the tablet space and Google itself is reportedly prepping its own Nexus Tablet for Google I/0 scheduled for later this month. So, things would perhaps not get very easy for the OEMs.
Microsoft will reportedly make Windows RT (ARM powered) tablets as well as traditional Windows 8, x86 powered models, so it will be interesting to see what the folks from Redmond conjure up.