14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is struggling to sell more Windows-based tablets. Not so long ago I told you the company was said to be eyeing MediaTek and actively pursuing the low-cost chip manufacturer, attempting to persuade it to push Windows-based tablets onto the Chinese white-box market.
On top of that, the tech giant is cutting down on Windows 8 licenses for those device makers, developing models under 9-inches.
But while Microsoft is struggling to conquer the international market, Asian sources familiar with the matter cited by DigiTimes claim that Windows tablets are getting increasingly popular in Japan.
Recently, sales in the country have been growing, due to the vendor’s aggressive price tags, with 8-inch Windows 8.1 models driving overall sales
According to the sources, in February 2014, 15.7% of Japan’s tablet sales were made up of Windows tablet models. By comparison, world-wide Windows tablets have managed to snatch only 2% marketshare.
Back in 2013, Apple was the absolute ruler of the Japanese tablet market, followed by ASUS. The top five was made up of Microsoft, Sony and Amazon. But currently Microsoft resides at number 3.
The sources note, Surface tablets are Japanese customers’ favorite table. However, four out of its nine available versions have been suffering shortages in the country, causing Microsoft to loose important business.