Windows 8 reviews: what the experts say

It's a busy time for Microsoft, with the release of its first ever tablet, the Surface, and the launch of its new Windows Phone 8 coming hot on each other's heels. But the centrepiece is the release of Windows 8 - a ground-up redesign of the company's venerable operating system that refits it for a tablet-and-touchscreen age.

As the smoke clears after Steve Ballmer leaves the stage at Microsoft's New York launch event - what does the wider world has to say about the newest operating system?

Tech pundits suggest that Windows 8 could be a make-or-break moment for the world's largest software company - so now that the final verdicts are in, we take a look at the reviews of Windows 8 to see if it matches up to the hype. (Disclosure: MSN is owned by Microsoft. The views in this article are not those of Microsoft.)

One thing everybody agrees on is that the change from previous version of Windows is dramatic. As Mary Branscombe at TechRadar says, "Windows 8 represents a fundamental shift in the way Windows works and is far more touchscreen-orientated for use on tablets as well as traditional PCs." It also divides opinion: Branscombe adds that "while every interface is a matter of personal taste, the range of opinions about the Windows 8 interface is extreme even for the world of technology."

Veteran tech reporter Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal agrees, saying: "Windows will now consist of two very different user experiences bound into a single package... By adopting the dual-environment strategy, Microsoft risks confusing traditional PC users, who will be jumping back and forth between two ways of doing things."

The Verge's Tom Warren, a long-standing Microsoft watcher, praises its touchscreen implementation: "Picking up a tablet PC with Windows 8 makes an iPad feel immediately out of date. The ability to run two apps alongside each other allows this to be more than a consumption device, with full keyboard and mouse support and a desktop operating system hiding in the background. It’s a hybrid, but one that might just work for Microsoft."

However, Warren, like many other reviewers, point out that much of the success of Windows 8 will depend on how many apps take advantage of its new capabilities: "Windows 8 is a beautiful operating system and one that feels incredibly personal once it’s customized. Microsoft has a huge fight on its hands now to ensure developers create beautiful apps."

Writing on Gizmodo, Kyle Wagner suggest that Microsoft has made an admirable job of a tough task, even if it the result isn't perfect: "The degree of difficulty is staggering. The ambition behind it admirable. And the execution? Not half bad. But not quite there yet, either." He adds that the redesign "actually makes Desktop way more pleasant" and that the new start screen " is an awesome dashboard/app drawer", but feels that some of the new style apps "can be visually confusing when multitasking" and that "some apps, like Mail, feel unfinished".

But The New York Times's David Pogue is less of a fan of the new approach, saying that there are "two different worlds within Windows 8 alone, one designed primarily for touch screens, the other for mouse and keyboard. Individually, they are excellent — but you can’t use them individually. Microsoft has combined them into a superimposed, muddled mishmash called Windows 8."

Mossberg in the Wall Street Journal sums up his feelings by saying: "Microsoft deserves credit for giving Windows a new, modern face. And the company will surely please existing users by maintaining the old one and the ability to run older apps. But the combination will require re-learning the most familiar computing system on the planet."

In the end, TechRadar's Branscombe says, it may just be a question of giving people time to get used to it: "It's a bold move to head off the danger of Windows becoming irrelevant in an iPad future by giving you the best of both worlds... Windows 8 shines most on a touchscreen system...But touchscreen or mouse, Windows 8 undeniably shines. Keep an open mind, spend some time getting used to the charm bar and the Start screen. Once you do, we defy you not to be impressed by Windows 8."

Relive the action from the Windows 8 launch here - and stay tuned for the Surface launch later tonight.

Visit our Windows 8 hub on MSN UK