Microsoft apparently plans a consumer preview in late February and aims for an October release of the commercial version, according to hints at CES.



From PCWorld:

Microsoft has been reluctant to say exactly when it will release Windows 8, but Poole seemed ready to offer a strong hint. "We haven't talked about the release date and we generally don't. We are talking milestone to milestone, so for us right now we're talking about the next milestone being the consumer preview happening in late February," she says.

Windows 8 (See also: "8 hot features in Windows 8") will feature touchscreen navigation and commands as well as support for tablets. Not all apps that run on Windows 7 will be compatible with the touchscreen capabilities, but mouse and keyboard devices will enable all apps that ran on Windows 7.

  Expect Windows 8 in October