Microsoft has confirmed that the official name for the next version of Windows will be Windows 8

There will be three editions of the operating system,

1. Windows 8, 

2. Windows 8 PRO and

3. Windows RT [for ARM]

Windows 8 and Windows 8 PRO both will come in 32 and 64 bit edition. Windows 8, will be equivalent to Windows 7 'Basic' and 'Home Premium' for Home users, and Windows 8 PRO will be equivalent to 'Professional' and ‘Ultimate’ edition for business users. 

Features of Windows 8 PRO

• BitLocker

• Switch languages on the fly

• Client Hyper-V

• Domain Join

• Boot from VHD

• Remote Desktop

• Encrypting File System

• Group Policy

• Touch and Thumb keyboard

• Picture password 

Windows 8 Pro will, however, be missing Windows Media Center and will be “available as an economical ‘media pack’ add-on.” Windows 8 Pro version will also feature a number of tools “for IT organization that enable PC management and deployment, advanced security, virtualization, new mobility scenarios, and much more.”

"Microsoft has also renamed the Windows on ARM (also known as WOA) edition. The new name for this will be Windows RT (note that there is no '8′ in this branding, possibly suggesting that this platform may develop into its own brand separate to the x86 platform). This version will only be available pre-installed on PCs and tablets powered by ARM processors (in other words, you will not be able to buy this version as a standalone product."

Windows 8 Consumer Preview should run on the same hardware that powers Windows 7 today. In general, you can expect Windows 8 Consumer Preview to run on a PC with the following:

• 1 GHz or faster processor

• 1 GB RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)

• 16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)

• DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver

• 1024 x 768 minimum screen resolution