The biggest omission from the hour, according to two analysts, was news about the Windows Store, the Microsoft-controlled distribution outlet for Windows RT and touch-based Windows 8 software.

Many had expected more than just a reminder that the Store was holding its "grand opening" -- a term both Sinofsky and Ballmer used -- on Friday; they had hoped that Microsoft would announce, perhaps in conjunction with some first-tier developers, new Windows 8 apps.

"We got bupkis," complained Gillett. "They didn't even name an app count. They're just not addressing the ecosystem."

Moorhead, who has been adamant about the to the success of Windows RT, and tablets that rely on it, tweeted: "Sinofsky says don't count Windows 8 apps or look for your favorite right now in the store. [But] it's a grand opening."

"They were very strategic in their choice of words," Carolina Milanesi of Gartner said in an interview after the event. "They just said, 'More apps' with no numbers. Really, that was only thing they could say. If the numbers were impressive, they would have used them."