Microsoft, Acer team up on Windows 7 laptop

Microsoft has teamed up with hardware manufacturer Acer to deliver a Windows 7 laptop created to its specifications.

"I want to talk about the making of a laptop," said Microsoft's president of Windows and Windows Live, Steven Sinofsky, at the day-two keynote at the software giant's annual Professional Developers Conference, being held in Los Angeles. "What we wanted to learn in building Windows 7 was what it's like to make some hardware. We don't do that a lot in the Windows Group."

Sinofsky was promoting the new features available in Windows 7 to hardware developers, such as multi-touchscreen maker Sony, that improve the user experience via new APIs (application protocol interface) available in the operating system. The device comes as speculation mounts over the arrival of an Apple multi-touchscreen tablet equivalent to the iPhone.

See Microsoft dabbles in hardware on ZDNet Australia for the full story.