14 DAY TRIAL // If we are to trust the recent figures provided by market research firms around the world, Windows 8 uptake remains low for the time being, with Microsoft’s new OS reaching a share of nearly 3 percent.
McAdams Right Ragen analyst Sid Parakh says that the high price of Windows 8 devices is the main factor that keeps users away from the latest Microsoft operating system, despite the tech giant’s efforts to bring cheaper units to the market.
What’s more, Parakh confirmed that Windows 8 had failed to boost PC sales, even though it was expected to spur customer demand in an otherwise collapsing industry.
“In particular, consumer PC uptake remains subdued and Microsoft has been unable to spur demand for its Surface devices and other Windows 8-based tablet offerings from OEMs. We view high price points for touch enabled Windows 8 devices as a gating factor for customer adoption,” he was quoted as saying by Barron’s.
“We estimate core licensing revenue for Windows 8 was down in line with low-to-mid double-digit declines highlighted by IDC and Gartner [...] Two thirds of all enterprise customers have now upgraded to Windows 7. Sales of other enterprise products appear to be healthy, but came in slightly below expectations. “
Microsoft, on the other hand, is still struggling to make Windows 8 devices more affordable, so it offers major discounts to OEMs producing such units.
According to sources familiar with the matter, the company has worked out a whole discount plan for manufacturers supposed to provide users with a wide variety of Windows 8 devices to choose from.
In addition, new touchscreen computers, laptops, and tablets are expected to hit the market later this year, as Microsoft is currently making the final adjustments to Windows 8.1, a major upgrade for Windows 8 due this summer.