Even the positive press the platform has received as a result is only partly behind the move.
Instead, Microsoft is on a major drive to generate support for its Windows Store - the home of apps the company hopes will lure consumers towards Windows 8 tablets come launch in 2012.
Setting off with Samsung
The prototypes - which sport an 11.6-inch screen, 4GB of RAM and a 64GB SSD - are a simple, if expensive way to introduce studios to the platform, and in turn, set them on their way to developing for it.
Windows 8's advantage over the other tablet OSs that have tried (and arguably failed) to make an impression on iPad, however, is that apps designed to run on it won't be limited to just tablet owners.
Microsoft's decision to deliver Windows 8 across tablets, PCs, netbooks and notebooks means developers will potentially have an audience in the millions to sell to almost from day one, however well - or badly - the first tablets carrying the platform do at launch.
"We reimagined Windows," said Windows and Windows Live president Steven Sinofsky in his BUILD keynote.
"From the chipset to the user experience, Windows 8 brings a new range of capabilities without compromise."
Eye on the ecosystem
Microsoft has already confirmed Windows 8 will ship with Xbox Live, and some kind of link up with Windows Phone 7 - including, possibly, its Marketplace - seems likely, too.
It's a broad approach that means Windows 8 tablets will be at the centre of Microsoft's business, rather than an expensive offshoot, akin to HP's TouchPad experiment.
"Keep in mind, Windows 8 is a no-compromise OS, which means you do not need to have a tablet or touch-capable machine to experience Windows 8," added Sinofsky on his blog.
"Mouse and keyboard are first class in the whole experience."
[source: Microsoft]
