In a recent article, we asked if Microsoft could compete with the iPad? Well, it would appear that they may be trying in more ways than one. 

According to a report from Bloomberg, Microsoft will announce a version of Windows that runs on ARM technology at the Consumer Electronics Show in early January. According to the report, which cites "two people familiar with Microsoft’s plans" as the source, the software would be tailored to battery-powered devices like tablets and other handhelds. 

We’ve seen other reports indicating that Microsoft would be unveiling some new tablets in a new effort to compete with Apple’s hugely successful iPad. 

Microsoft recently launched Windows Phone 7 to compete with Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android in the smartphone space. This week, the company finally revealed some info about sales of devices running this operating system. The company revealed that manufacturers sold 1.5 million phones in the first six weeks. 

As our own Doug Caverly pointed out, Android’s Andy Rubin rcently tweeted that over 300,000 Android phones were being activated every day, and Apple recently announced that it sold 14.1 million iPhones in the third quarter. 

While the numbers on Windows Phone 7 might not be astonishing so far, the operating system did get some pretty good reviews, and I wouldn’t write it off just yet. It will be very interesting to see if Microsoft emerges as a big part of the conversation in mobile computing over the next year. 

What do you think? Can Microsoft take on Apple and Google in the mobile operating system realm?