14 DAY TRIAL // In hindsight, it should have been easy enough to predict that Windows 8 PC sales would not skyrocket like Jimmy Neutron on a sugar high. Nevertheless, consumers, IT companies and analysts alike expected Microsoft's new OS to soar immediately, which is not happening.
Certainly, there was the initial wave of tablet, desktop and laptop sales, but there was no major improvement in overall PC shipments.
Now, it is reported that notebook makers, if not all PC suppliers, have decided not to be too enthusiastic about Windows 8 configurations.
Inventories of notebook with Windows 7 are still high, and they want to exhaust them first, since it is not an easy (or cost-viable) task to upgrade them all with the new software, or touchscreens for that matter.
Besides, real demand for Windows 8-based notebooks may not actually come before the first half of 2013, companies feel. The shortage of touchscreens is a problem too.
Entry-level models are being offered for $359-399 / 359-399 Euro.