Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced the next version of Microsoft Windows will arrive sometime next year. The new operating system, billed "Windows 8", will be available for PCs, slates and tablets.

At a Microsoft Developer forum in Japan last Monday Steve Ballmer talked about Microsoft's relationship and commitment to Japan and the innovations that would come in the next few years in the computer industry. He said:

We're obviously hard at work on the next version of Windows. Windows 7 PCs will sell over 350 million units this year. We've done a lot in Windows 7 to improve customer satisfaction. We have a brand new user interface. We've added touch, and ink, and speech. And yet, as we look forward to the next generation of Windows systems, which will come out next year, there's a whole lot more coming. As we progress through the year, you ought to expect to hear a lot about Windows 8. Windows 8 slates, tablets, PCs, a variety of different form factors.

There's nothing too revealing about the little tidbit, Ballmer let slip out. Users have been waiting for the logical successor to Windows 7 and going by Microsoft's intended three-year release cycle, the new operating system should be out by 2012. Microsoft has already talked about the new version of Windows since last January. It had announced that the new operating system would be able to run on ARM processors found in tablets and smart phones. Ballmer's statement was the first time that a CEO has confirmed the Windows 8 name and a release date.

Microsoft apparently back peddled on the statement and retracted yesterday. A company spokesperson said in a statement that Ballmer's announcement was a misstatement. Microsoft has yet to formally announce any timing or naming for the next version of Windows.