Microsoft: Tablets to outsell desktop PCs in 2013

“Next year, tablets will outsell desktop PCs,” said Leblond. “Touch is coming to PCs and that’s going to change the way UIs are designed very dramatically, just like the mouse did.”

Speaking a week after Microsoft revealed its own-brand Surface tablet, Leblond was naturally keen to emphasise the benefits of the touchscreen Metro interface, he also stressed that Microsoft wasn’t turning its back on laptop and desktop users. “It [Metro] works equally well on a desktop or a tablet,” he insisted, with colleagues demonstrating a variety of keyboard shortcuts to navigate the Metro Start menu.

However, the demonstration faltered when Leblond’s colleague attempted to demonstrate touchpad gestures such as double-fingered scrolling, with the demo laptop repeatedly refusing to recognise the gesture controls.