Filing Leaks 10/26 Launch Date For Microsoft Surface & Windows 8

Microsoft's annual report to the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission seems to confirm a few details about Windows 8 and Surface that many already suspected: The launch date is October 26th for both. Of course, Microsoft hasn't made these dates official yet.

If you're planning to pick up one of the new tablets, one thing to keep in mind is that only the ARM-based Surface is launching on the 26th. That's the Surface for Windows RT tablets. Microsoft also plans to launch Surface Pro tablets, which have an Intel chip, a few months after the initial Surface launch.

Microsoft isn't new to developing hardware, but the Surface may cause some friction with Microsoft's partners that its keyboards and mice simply don't. Microsoft has acknowledged this, but feels that it's worth the risk. In an industry that's seeing several big names develop hardware/software packages (think Apple, Amazon, and Google), handling the whole package doesn't look like a bad strategy.