14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft still struggles to move users from older Windows versions to newer releases, but up until now, the company has failed to do so, as many prefer to either stick to the current installations or switch to Windows 7.
As a result, IHS analyst Clifford Leimbach believes that Windows 8's biggest rival isn't a platform developed by Apple or a Linux distribution, but Windows 7 itself.
"Consumers may not be bolting from Microsoft, but it’s not because of any love for the system," Leimbach was quoted as saying.
"Microsoft’s base is staying largely because there are no alternatives to run to, especially in the low-cost segment where price rules purchases. With no viable alternatives, unhappy Windows users will simply hold onto their current version of Windows."
Windows 7 is at the this point the number one operating system worldwide, with a market share of approximately 45 percent, while Windows 8 barely reached 6 percent.