14 DAY TRIAL // While Microsoft claims it has sold 60 million Windows 8 copies in just two months after launch, analysts continue to blast the operating system, pointing to a rather disappointing sales performance so far.
Rick Sherlund, a managing director at Nomura Securities, told CNBC in an interview that Windows 8 sales had been “soft” so far, but he expects the software to excite a little bit more this year.
“Windows 8 will probably resonate better in the enterprise market,” he said, adding that Windows RT tablets are too expensive, especially for users who don’t need the Office productivity suite.
“And so on the consumer side, I think that's a real tough market for Microsoft. If you don't need Office, then you really don't need to pay a premium for their products,” he added.
Bill Gates, on the other hand, suggested in a recent interview that Windows 8 and the Surface RT had both performed well, emphasizing that 60 million sold units wasn’t such a disappointing sales figure, as so many analysts are pointing out these days.