HispanicBusiness

Microsoft on Tuesday acknowledged a variety of problems with its latest operating system, Windows 8, confirming the complaints of many analysts and customers.

A raft of changes to be introduced before the end of the year would drive innovation in both PC and tablet devices, said the head of marketing and finance, Tami Reller.

Reller's interview, published on the company's website, came six months after the launch of the operating system, which is seen as vital to Microsoft's success as its dominance is shaken by the rise of tablets at the expense of PCs.

While Windows has dominated the PC market for two decades, operating systems for tablet computers are overwhelmingly made by Apple and Google, with Microsoft's Windows 8 a late and still marginal rival.

The operating system tried to bridge the divide between traditional PCs and tablets with a single operating system that combined both touch controls and the traditional mouse and keyboard.

However, users and analysts have complained bitterly that the new interface is confusing and in a recent report, market research firm IDC blamed Windows 8 for reducing demand for PCs.

With more than 100 million copies of Windows 8 sold, Reller insisted that the product was a success and "in the same general ballpark," as Microsoft's previous operating system - Windows 7 at the same stage in its sales cycle.

"Windows 8 is a big, ambitious change," she said. "While we realize that change takes time, we feel good about the progress since launch."

But she confirmed that an update, codenamed Blue, would be released later this year, providing "an opportunity for us to respond to the customer feedback that we've been closely listening to since the launch of Windows 8."

"Are there things that we can do to improve the experience? Absolutely," Reller said. "There is a learning curve (to Windows 8) and we can work to address that."