Samsung planning to release Windows RT tablet

Microsoft may have found an unlikely new partner for its Windows RT consumer tablet platform, with Samsung looking at developing a tablet for the platform, according to reports.

Bloomberg reports that Samsung hopes to release a tablet running Windows RT later this year.

Given Samsung’s strength in the Android market with its Galaxy series of devices, the move would help the company hedge its bets, particularly given recent patent lawsuits that have seen injunctions granted against sales in the US of the company’s Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy Tab devices.

However, a new Samsung Windows RT tablet will be in the difficult position of competing directly with the consumer version of Microsoft’s Surface tablet, which will also be built on the Windows RT platform.

The news comes after traditional Microsoft hardware partner HP placed its own plans for a Windows RT tablet on hold after Microsoft’s recent Surface announcement.