Microsoft on Monday night backtracked on statements from Steve Ballmer about the release of its next operating system.

"It appears there was a misstatement," a Microsoft spokeswoman said in a statement. "We are eagerly awaiting the next generation of Windows 7 hardware that will be available in the coming fiscal year. To date, we have yet to formally announce any timing or naming for the next version of Windows."

Microsoft's statement comes after Ballmer appeared at a Microsoft Developer Forum in Tokyo on Monday and said the "next generation of Windows systems ... will come out next year."

"As we progress through the year, you ought to expect to hear a lot about Windows 8. Windows 8 slates, tablets, PCs, a variety of different form factors," Ballmer said.

While we might hear a lot about Windows 8 this year, it's now unclear if we'll be able to purchase Windows 8-based systems in 2012. Windows 7 made its debut in October 2009, almost three years after Vista launched in January 2007. If Microsoft sticks to a similar release cycle, that could put the Windows 8 release in late 2012, but Redmond apparently isn't prepared to make any formal statements just yet.

A variety of rumors regarding Windows 8 have popped up on the Internet in recent months, but Microsoft has yet to confirm any particular features it will add to the OS. While Ballmer didn't go into detail about what Windows 8 users will see, he did outline several areas into which Microsoft is committed to investing, including the natural user interface, natural language, HTML and JavaScript, and the cloud.

Expect to hear more about the future of Windows at the "D: All Things Digital" conference next week in California. All Things D recently confirmed that Microsoft's Windows president, Steven Sinofsky, will appear at the conference, which runs from May 31 to June 2.

Microsoft is also hosting a Windows Phone event today in New York, during which it is expected to provide more details on the next Windows Phone 7 update, codenamed Mango.