Microsoft is mishandling Windows 8 embedded release, argues Intermec CTO

Chief technology officer of Intermec, Arvin Danielson, has criticised Microsoft for the way it has handled the upcoming release of Windows 8 embedded for enterprise.

Intermec is a software and hardware vendor that specialises in rugged mobile devices.

"I don't think Microsoft has handled the embedded Windows 8 release very well. We have told them that they are hurting themselves by not moving faster and being aggressive with Windows 8 and the tablet space," said Danielson.

"Microsoft has announced Windows 8, but has left people unaware about when they will actually be able to get it. They have implied 2014, but that is too late. This has left this huge gap between the announcement and the release, which may mean enterprises turn to Android," he added.

Danielson argued that Microsoft needs to let companies like Intermec get hold of the software so it can get working on developing applications, so that when Windows 8 is released generally, it will have applications ready to distribute.

"I want Microsoft to move faster. They need to open up to everybody and get some betas out early. They haven't even told us what we are going to have to do to change our applications," he said.

"We know that the user interface is going to be totally different, but we don't know enough to get working on it. It's going to take 12 months or more for us to change our applications and they could be helping to drive that," he added.

Danielson was speaking to Computing  at Intermec's 2012 EMEA Summit in Athens, Greece.