Windows 8 Sales Well Below Projections, Plenty of Blame to Go Around

heatlesssun

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http://winsupersite.com/windows-8/windows-8-sales-well-below-projections-plenty-blame-go-around

So much for me advertising Windows 8. Paul Thurrot is one of the best Windows sources out there so I take this as true. Not sure how Microsoft's internal projections lined up with the expectations of the market, I've said myself I expected things to start of slow since that's what all the reputable analysts were saying, coupled with a lack of the more interesting hardware, very few hybrids, Core of Clover Trail to be found.
 
And it has nothing to do with the Metro UI? Yet you fail to acknowledge this.
Before MS starts point fingers at everyone else it better be damned sure it doesn't have 2 pointed back at it.
 
There are a whole host of factors that can and are contributing causes. Metro UI alone is not the cause, and to say so is to be completely ignorant.

Windows 7 is a strong and stable platform. There is absolutely no need to upgrade from Windows 7.

Interest in Windows 8 tablets probably isn't as high as they expected.

Economy is in a downturn, most people don't want to buy a new computer unless they have to.

And then, of course there's the interface change, which might attract some people, yet push away others.
 
Oh we all knew this was coming.

When you have to have a law degree to figure out how to shut down the system.

I'm a techie and I will not touch Win 8. How is MS to expect a casual user to go out and upgrade it by themselves, and learn how to use it themselves? Just way too much.

When you design an interface to be used for tablets and mobile devices, and not desktops.

Corporate desktop/laptop sales is huge for Windows operating systems, they will never get that market with the current interface like they designed it. AT&T which has over 10,000 end users are still on XP.
 
Interest in Windows 8 tablets probably isn't as high as they expected.

Interest isn't nearly the problem as existence, Windows 8 tablets and hybrids are in very short supply right now, I still can't find a keyboard for my Samsung Ativ that I bought three weeks ago.

And it has nothing to do with the Metro UI? Yet you fail to acknowledge this.
Before MS starts point fingers at everyone else it better be damned sure it doesn't have 2 pointed back at it.

And if Windows 8 PCs had the Start Menu and looked like Windows 7 PCs why would anyone buy the same thing they already had? However I've mentioned many times that I understand why people don't like Metro on traditional PCs and that I never expected traditional PCs to be the motivation for people buying Windows 8 hardware.
 
Until they get rid of Metro UI for non-touchable screen, I wouldn't expect them to reach that far.

Also, the new Visual Studio UI is just a complete disaster too when they tries to match with Windows 8 Theme.
 
Ballmer also said recently that Surface sales were "modest". That word choice is interesting, as I suspect that if sales were as strong as internally anticipated, he would have selected a more upbeat word.
 
The writing has been on the wall for some time. What some of the more apparent Win8 zealots fail to recognize is you can't argue or bully people into liking something or finding it appealing. The fact remains the product has to stand on its own and cannot afford to be divisive, and people don't lay down money to have to tolerate a main new feature (Metro).

No, Metro crowbarred onto the desktop isn't deserving of all the blame - but its at least 90% of it. And with Metro as the "face" of Windows 8, well first impressions are everything and if a car looks like a buick on the outside, doesn't matter that its a mercedes on the inside if window shoppers never get as far as looking inside. People probably don't realize the extent of the ripple effect it has had on public perception. And its not that people are simply resistant to change and never want to move away from the plain old start menu -- its that Metro in terms of its design aspects just isn't compelling. It's plain, its dull, its child oriented, its about as exciting as a TV test pattern.

Yes tablets appear to be the future right for the moment (and the definition of "the future" changes every year) but alienating their massive installed base of desktops users was shooting themselves in the foot. A more compelling next-gen interface with better, more adult design choices could have had that synergistic/halo effect MS was looking for when desktop users are making their tablet buying choice. Worst of all the chilly reception of Win8 and Surface makes app developers hesitant to devote time and resources into metro apps when android and iOS apps are far more lucrative.

And its a damn shame because as is often said Win8 is a beast under the hood and a boon for power users - I wouldn't go back to Win7 for love or money because I'm totally spoiled by killer new features like SMB 3.0, smaller memory footprint, more efficient kernel, better performance in Hyper-V, kick-ass new task manager graphs for monitoring, smarter multi-monitor implementation, everything just snappier and tighter and my workflow has noticeably sped up.
 
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5 days after launch there was an article showing stronger initial adoption of Win8 than Win7 had when it came out, and the pre-orders for the Surface tablet sold out. I really don't quite understand how sales are below their predictions, unless they were predicting it by dollars made rather than units sold. I figure in that case then it would make more sense, what with that awesome upgrade deal people were biting on.
 
5 days after launch there was an article showing stronger initial adoption of Win8 than Win7 had when it came out, and the pre-orders for the Surface tablet sold out. I really don't quite understand how sales are below their predictions, unless they were predicting it by dollars made rather than units sold. I figure in that case then it would make more sense, what with that awesome upgrade deal people were biting on.

with windows 7 (that's already working) there isn't a need to upgrade
 
Yes tablets appear to be the future right for the moment (and the definition of "the future" changes every year) but alienating their massive installed base of desktops users was shooting themselves in the foot.

But this massive install base rarely upgrades and many Windows 8 opponents point out when I mention the fast growth rates of tablets that many PC users are just fine with their 5 year old PCs. Every version of Windows competes with prior versions. Even the mighty 7 to this day struggles against XP. I bet the majority of people here that don't care for 8 wouldn't upgrade from 7 even it offered a Metro off switch. What would be the point?

I've been saying for a long time that there are DEEP problems with the Windows PC market. Microsoft would have never made Windows 8 the product that it is unless Ballmer, Gates (he gave his blessing to Windows 8 from the rumors) and others didn't seen big problems facing the future of Windows. One can blame Metro, but an off switch for it would be at best a palliative.

If the only future for Windows is the machine dad uses for work, it's dead. Without some kind of grass roots consumer market for Windows, it has no future beyond that of a legacy product in world that has better things to do.

If Windows can't work on tablets it's dead.
 
Microsoft was banking on OEMs to come up with tablets that would compete with Android and take market share away from Google. Clearly, the OEMs have faltered here as there is not one notable Windows 8 tablet I can think of other than Surface. Even then, Surface's sales have been lackluster.

The choices Microsoft made in the design of Windows 8 clearly indicates that they think the days of the PC being a cash cow are now over. Their solution, was a hybrid tablet/desktop UI that could be implemented in a range of devices. Instead, they just alienated their bread and butter desktop user base while failing to capture the people who have not yet purchased tablets or people who are willing to pay to switch.

Can't say I'm surprised. Nobody in Microsoft should be either unless they are that out of touch
 
I bought win8. But now I am going to the desktop immediately I don't even see metro much (it's completely useless). I think that desktops will never going away, I like having a nice desk and sitting on my expensive chair. I don't think that buying a tablet and using it instead of my desktop full time is good.
 
Microsoft was banking on OEMs to come up with tablets that would compete with Android and take market share away from Google.

A little premature to say "was" on an OS only three weeks old. There are a lot of Windows 8 designs that simply haven't been released or are in low supply. AT&T started to sell the Samsung Ativ Smart PC last week and it's still only available at 3 out of the 30 AT&T stores around me. Metro or no, hard to have sales without product.
 
I bought win8. But now I am going to the desktop immediately I don't even see metro much (it's completely useless). I think that desktops will never going away, I like having a nice desk and sitting on my expensive chair. I don't think that buying a tablet and using it instead of my desktop full time is good.
Most people aren't like you though - they'll browse the web, facebook, and e-mail (which is 90% of what people do at home with technology) from their iPads on the living room couch or the kitchen table while watching TV. I've seen this transition before my very eyes in my own household. I am the only person that breaks out a laptop when I want to casually browse the web and honestly, it's starting to feel kind of clunky
 
A little premature to say "was" on an OS only three weeks old. There are a lot of Windows 8 designs that simply haven't been released or are in low supply. AT&T started to sell the Samsung Ativ Smart PC last week and it's still only available at 3 out of the 30 AT&T stores around me. Metro or no, hard to have sales without product.

Three weeks old but in development for how long? How could have MS been possibly left the OEM's in the dark through the process?

Microsoft was clearly looking to make a splash right away with this, not 1 year down the road. From a developer's point of view, why would they devote time and resources in developing metro apps when they see that the OS is not taking off?
 
Most people aren't like you though - they'll browse the web, facebook, and e-mail (which is 90% of what people do at home with technology) from their iPads on the living room couch or the kitchen table while watching TV. I've seen this transition before my very eyes in my own household. I am the only person that breaks out a laptop when I want to casually browse the web and honestly, it's starting to feel kind of clunky

But that's the beauty of a Windows 8 tablet, they are true hyndrid devices. Can work as a laptop, desktop or tablet. Tried of working on that big term paper on the couch and need a big monitor? Go to your desk and without even having to plug in a single wire if you want with a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard and wireless display use the full Office suite that you were on the couch. Or finish watching that movie. Or writing that program. There simply aren't any conventional limits on a Windows 8 tablet within their performance envelope which is pretty high for the Core devices.

Three weeks old but in development for how long? How could have MS been possibly left the OEM's in the dark through the process?

Microsoft was clearly looking to make a splash right away with this, not 1 year down the road. From a developer's point of view, why would they devote time and resources in developing metro apps when they see that the OS is not taking off?

No matter what Microsoft was expecting it's hard to sell something that can't be bought. Almost no Clover Trail or Ivy Bridge tablets at launch when there were of couple of dozen that have been announced. Heck, Intel didn't even really launch Clover Trail until late September and from the rumors those suckers are still in tight supply three weeks after launch.

Windows 8 is a lot more than just about Metro. Hardware is a huge part of it and that hardware just isn't ready. People were wondering why Microsoft launched the Surface RT before the Surface Pro, it's obvious why now.
 
Another Paul Thurrott post citing no sources whatsoever and using weasel words and phrases such as "below internal projections" and "disappointing." Not even an indication of whether those words and phrases were his or someone within the company.

Drunk 'Softie to PT: "Yeah, I was thinking we'd have 90% market penetration three weeks after launch, but that didn't work out. I'm disappointed!"

I also find it ironic that PT whines about the FUD surrounding SS's departure from the company in an article where PT himself is piling on the FUD.

Remember, the pundits were calling XP a dud, too, and look how that turned out.
 
This is from the beginning of the month from Ballmer himself:

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said on Monday sales of the company's new Windows 8 operating system, released to the public on Friday, were running at a higher rate than its last release, Windows 7.

"We're above where we were with Windows 7," Ballmer told the audience at an event launching new phones running Microsoft's phone software called Windows Phone 8.

Windows 7 is the best-selling version of Windows so far, selling more than 670 million licenses in three years since release in 2009.

(Reporting By Malathi Nayak; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)


Source

Ballmer also said recently that Surface sales were "modest". That word choice is interesting, as I suspect that if sales were as strong as internally anticipated, he would have selected a more upbeat word.


This was later debunked as media twisting what he said:

Update: We’ve been contacted by Microsoft regarding the above. Here’s their official statement.

“When asked about Surface, Steve’s use of the term “modest” was in relation to the company’s approach in ramping up supply and distribution of Surface with Windows RT, which has only been available via our online store and certain Microsoft retail stores in the U.S. While our approach has been modest, Steve notes the reception to the device has been “fantastic” which is why he also stated that “soon, it will be available in more countries and in more stores.”

Source
 
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And it has nothing to do with the Metro UI? Yet you fail to acknowledge this.
Before MS starts point fingers at everyone else it better be damned sure it doesn't have 2 pointed back at it.

+1. At the super low price they should of sold alot more.
If they would of offered a regular install and metro install, I think it would of done alot better.
I think they should really separate the 2 since a desktop more then likely isnt going to have a touchscreen, but maybe thats just me. Leave the tablet gui to.... a tablet? :eek:
 
+1. At the super low price they should of sold alot more.

Sales of Windows 8 PCs are well below Microsoft’s internal projections and have been described inside the company as disappointing. But here’s the catch: The software giant blames the slow start on lackluster PC maker designs and availability, further justifying its new Surface strategy. But Windows 8’s market acceptance can be blamed on many factors.

Doesn't look like you read the article.
 
Oh we all knew this was coming.

When you have to have a law degree to figure out how to shut down the system.

I'm a techie and I will not touch Win 8. How is MS to expect a casual user to go out and upgrade it by themselves, and learn how to use it themselves? Just way too much.

When you design an interface to be used for tablets and mobile devices, and not desktops.

Corporate desktop/laptop sales is huge for Windows operating systems, they will never get that market with the current interface like they designed it. AT&T which has over 10,000 end users are still on XP.

Whats sad is that if you put Linux in front of a non techie person, they can do just fine, since its at a point its just like windows... err windows 7 and below.
I actually installed Linux on some computers that VERY non techies would use and they used it just fine.

Remember when you had to compile linux to get it the way you wanted to use it like windows. Its now reversed and I do find that kind of comical.

I use Mint 13 and going between that and win 7 is like no change at all.

I would love to see a win deskop OS and a tablet OS. That would just rock!
 
Whats sad is that if you put Linux in front of a non techie person, they can do just fine, since its at a point its just like windows... err windows 7 and below.
I actually installed Linux on some computers that VERY non techies would use and they used it just fine.

They'll do fine until they do that first thing that isn't like Windows. Then not so much. When you consider the fact that Windows 8 is both hardware and software backwards compatible with Windows 7 the number of function points of compatibly between 7 and 8 are much greater than 7 and any version of Linux. If one lives life looking at an app launcher then Linux might be a better solution for them than Windows 8. If they actually use their computers to run programs then I don't think that Linux is that similar.
 
They'll do fine until they do that first thing that isn't like Windows. Then not so much.

The linux was like windows 7 and below, so it really wasnt hard. It had the icons on the screen, start menu, etc. It really worked good. Openoffice is what I put on there for them to write resumes and such.

It was just cheaper that way from Dell I believe without an OS.
 
The linux was like windows 7 and below, so it really wasnt hard. It had the icons on the screen, start menu, etc. It really worked good. Openoffice is what I put on there for them to write resumes and such.

It was just cheaper that way from Dell I believe without an OS.

Again, they'll do fine until they do the thing that's not like what they are used to. Isn't Windows 8's dissimilarity to previous versions of Windows a principal argument against Windows 8?
 
Again, they'll do fine until they do the thing that's not like what they are used to. Isn't Windows 8's dissimilarity to previous versions of Windows a principal argument against Windows 8?

I am not against windows 8 as a whole, just the hybrid part. There are so many threads on it and from people that wonder why MS is going in that direction. The direction isnt a straight path since they have a desktop and tablet that needs an OS. So it needs to split off and go their separate paths and grow for what they are designed for and used.

If you have used mint(and probably other distros), its pretty much a win clone, its kind of scary and easy to use. I love it!
 
I am not against windows 8 as a whole, just the hybrid part. There are so many threads on it and from people that wonder why MS is going in that direction. The direction isnt a straight path since they have a desktop and tablet that needs an OS. So it needs to split off and go their separate paths and grow for what they are designed for and used.

But this isn't just about an OS, it's also about hardware and indeed the point of this leak. I'm writing this post with a pen on a device that weighs little more than the latest big iPad that also has a touch screen and can run Windows desktop software with a keyboard and mouse and use an external monitor. If I can have all of that in one device that's no more expensive than an iPad with the same amount of storage, not much heavier and has equivalent battery life why would I want two different devices?

If you have used mint(and probably other distros), its pretty much a win clone, its kind of scary and easy to use. I love it!

I'm not disagreeing with you, all I said it's as easy as what one used to until it deviates from that which is a core argument of Windows 8 opponents.
 
I like Win8 so far, and I think Metro is MS extending the "4 squares" Windows branding I still see from my XP screensavers. Media Center was ahead of its time. MSN on Win8 will and should win design awards.
I just bought my mom A HP 27" all-in-one with an I3770 & Win8. It'll go great in her kitchen. NYT, MSN, Bing, Weather, Mail, StumbleUpon, Messaging...with breakfast.
Ebay, recipes, Local news and shopping, Arts and entertainment, Messaging, Facebook, Skype... She's gonna dig Metro on a big touchscreen.

Mum's the word until Xmas. :D
 
Windows 8, I would like you to meet Vista....except for Vista was actually a substantial improvement over XP...

I would argue that METRO UI is the sole reason for the failure of Windows 8 to meet sales expectations.

No traditional desktop = people are not happy. That poor excuse of a desktop did them in.
 
Microsoft was banking on OEMs to come up with tablets that would compete with Android and take market share away from Google. Clearly, the OEMs have faltered here as there is not one notable Windows 8 tablet I can think of other than Surface. Even then, Surface's sales have been lackluster.

The choices Microsoft made in the design of Windows 8 clearly indicates that they think the days of the PC being a cash cow are now over. Their solution, was a hybrid tablet/desktop UI that could be implemented in a range of devices. Instead, they just alienated their bread and butter desktop user base while failing to capture the people who have not yet purchased tablets or people who are willing to pay to switch.

Can't say I'm surprised. Nobody in Microsoft should be either unless they are that out of touch

Dell, Levenno, and MS all have nice hardware on the tablet/convertable side. I am impressed by their offerings.
 
But this isn't just about an OS, it's also about hardware and indeed the point of this leak. I'm writing this post with a pen on a device that weighs little more than the latest big iPad that also has a touch screen and can run Windows desktop software with a keyboard and mouse and use an external monitor. If I can have all of that in one device that's no more expensive than an iPad with the same amount of storage, not much heavier and has equivalent battery life why would I want two different devices?



I'm not disagreeing with you, all I said it's as easy as what one used to until it deviates from that which is a core argument of Windows 8 opponents.


You keep talking about tablet crap. I dont care about tablets, I care about desktops. Apple did it and MS can do it, have 1 OS for each.

Like I said, my droid phone has icons, metro style touch stuff. Again, no big deal. I can hook up a TV up to it, watch HD movies, etc and so forth and its just a little phone and not a tablet.

The point is that they didnt anticipate the amount of people not liking a hybrid OS. They even had a commercial from Best Buy that made win 8 look bad.(for a non tech user)
Business's didnt want to take the time and install 3rd party apps just to have the windows they have used and liked back to normal for their users.. It has tweaks and updates which is great, but they should of left it alone, offered a regular install, or just plain split it.

We just dont agree on having a hybrid OS on a desktop! :D
 
The only reason I upgraded from Windows 7 was due to the cheap upgrade price. I was able to get two copies of Windows 8 for about $80.00 so I jumped on it. I tried the Metro screen or whatever you call it for a few days before I bought Start8 and went back to the traditional desktop. In my opinion, people like to feel comfortable when they are doing something so changing things can be upsetting. They should have released one version for tablets and another for PC's and be done with it. Funny thing is that my wife got mad at me when I installed Start8 on her computer so it booted up straight to the desktop. She demanded that I change the settings so it would boot up to the Metro screen. She said she likes having the tiles so she can just click the one she wants. People like her never accessed the start button so they will never miss it. Different strokes for different folks.
 
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Why am I not surprised. Lets see who will Microsoft blame for the low sales of Windows 8.

It can only really be MicroSoft. Probably it's them for not listening to all the people during every single stage that this was silly. If a product I was sending out for testing came back with masses of negative feedback i'd probably do more to address it than just go "morons, you're wrong!" and not change anything. :D
 
Windows 8 has a traditional desktop. I've used it for months. No bizarre 3rd party applications required.
 
Windows 8 has a traditional desktop. I've used it for months. No bizarre 3rd party applications required.

I assume you are young and have never used windows 7 or anything below that. It is missing stuff that was disabled or taken out.

Nice try. :)
 
I bought it and its been the best OS I used.
The market are slow to upgrade.
if it works there is little to no reason to get something new as of today.
 
I assume you are young and have never used windows 7 or anything below that. It is missing stuff that was disabled or taken out.

Nice try. :)

Nothing has been taken out to prevent one from running all of the same software in 8 as 7 on the desktop. And beyond desktop gadgets most everything that was supposedly taken out exists in the File Explorer.
 
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