Microsoft in tablet Twitter teaser?

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Microsoft has jacked into the zillion-volt power of the Twittersphere by releasing a passing glimpse at an upcoming product, leading to speculation that a possible Windows tablet will be launched before the week is out.

It’s hard to hazard an informed guess as to what this is, but one thing can be said with certainty — it definitely has a corner. Microsoft’s hardware division only acquired its Twitter account last week, so you could argue it’s purely for the purpose of teasing, then unveiling, this new product. Microsoft didn’t give much else away, except tweeting:

.bbpBox20176234893 {background:url(http://s.twimg.com/a/1280356346/images/themes/theme1/bg.png) #bfbfbf;padding:20px;} p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px !important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px;padding-top:12px;height:40px;border-top:1px solid #fff;border-top:1px solid #e6e6e6} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author{line-height:19px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 7px 0 0px;width:38px;height:38px} p.bbpTweet a:hover{text-decoration:underline}p.bbpTweet span.timestamp{font-size:12px;display:block}

Here’s a hint for you: “Don’t be so touchy…flat is where it’s at.” We’ll share another glimpse of our upcoming product with you tomorrow.less than a minute ago via CoTweetMicrosoft Hardwaremsfthardware

Interesting — “Don’t be so touchy” could conceivably be referring to a Kindle-style ereader with a Qwerty keyboard. Microsoft Hardware is best known for its mice, so possibly something like Apple’s Magic Trackpad?

We think it’s doubtful Microsoft has managed to put a tablet computer together so soon, after the shelving of its Courier tablet in April and Steve Ballmer’s comments last week in which he suggested a Windows-based tablet was of the utmost urgency — but wasn’t ready yet.

The CNET UK team has put forward their own highly educated guesses: Rich reckons it’s a spaceship, Ian suggested a brick-filled washing machine and the excitable Luke is still hoping for a hoverboard running Windows 7.

What do you think this could be? Tablet time or attention seeking? We’ll keep you posted with any updates, but in the meantime hazard your guesses in the comments section below.