Citing "sources close to Microsoft," TNW pointed to February for the beta's debut but said the release date for the final version of Windows 8 remains a mystery, though it's expected to ship next year.
Mary Jo Foley of CNET sister site ZDNet said she's heard that the beta would appear after next month's Consumer Electronics Show, which runs from January 10 to 13, but Foley said she isn't aware of any specific dates.
If the February timeframe holds true for the beta, the RTM (release-to-manufacturing) version of Windows 8 could hit the market as early as June. The final shipping version would then see the light of day in the third quarter, just in time to land on PCs and mobile devices for the 2012 holiday season.
This past June, Dan'l Lewin, Microsoft corporate vice president for Strategic and Emerging Business Development, hinted at a fall 2012 release date for the new OS, though that was predicated on the beta already being out by now.
