This is apples (iPad - a hardware device) to oranges (an operating system). Apple is doing exactly the same thing as Microsoft when it comes to os. First beta

This is apples (iPad - a hardware device) to oranges (an operating system). Apple is doing exactly the same thing as Microsoft when it comes to os. First beta version of iOS 5 was released 3 months ago at WWDC, Apple's equivalent of Build conference, and is not shipping yet. The same goes for Mac OS X - beta builds are available to developers long before the final retail build. Neither Microsoft nor Apple can just ship their OS without giving developers enough time to test their apps for compatibility and fix inevitable issues. As to why Microsoft doesn't follow Apple's hardware release strategy: it's because Microsoft doesn't do hardware. They don't make PCs. They don't make tablets. They don't make phones. The release strategy for hardware is up to the companies that do make the hardware: Dell, Sony, HP, HTC, Samsung etc.