Windows 8 consumer preview will be available for download on February 29

YEREVAN, February 9. /ARKA/. Microsoft company said its Windows 8 Consumer Preview will be available for download on February 29. On February 29 it will hold a special, invitation-only event in Barcelona, Spain, during a Mobile World Congress gathering. Presumably, at the same time they will flip a switch that gives the general public access to a major milestone in the Windows 8 development process, RIA Novosti reports. Microsoft promised to release more information closer to the end of the month. 

The introduction of a test, or beta, version of Windows 8 to the public is expected to be accompanied by the opening of an " app store" stocked with mini-programs tailored for the next-generation operating system. 

In December, Microsoft began wooing developers for a February opening of its first Windows Store intended to feature third-party applications crafted for computers powered by the Redmond, Washington-based firm's software. It will take on Apple and Google in the booming market of fun, hip or functional programs built for smartphones, tablets and computers. 

According to unofficial information, Windows 8 will be largely integrated into future mobile platform Windows Phone 8, and therefore its presentation at Mobile World Congress, which will be held from 27 February to 1 March in Barcelona (Spain), may prove to be quite logical. The appearance of the final version of Windows 8 is expected later this year simultaneously with first sales of tablets built on Windows 8. -0-