Windows 8 launched with a ton of fanfare a few weeks ago, and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said later the company had sold four million Windows 8 software upgrades in its first four days. However, just how many new PCs with Windows 8 have been sold to the general public?
Investors.com posted some mixed signals on that front, based on reports from two different financial analysts. On the one hand, Pacific Crest Securities analyst Brendan Barnicle reports that, in his own survey of retailers in the US, Canada and Germany, 75 percent of them said that Windows 8 PC sales have met their expectations, while 25 percent have actually exceeded expectations.
Barnicle adds, "In our third round of retail checks, Windows 8 and Surface continue to meet expectations, with Surface actually slowing from prior weeks."
But will that trend continue? Cowen & Co. analysts Robert Stone and James Medvedeff wrote a note to investors this morning based on the results of a survey of 1,225 US residents. The results show a full two thirds of them don't plan to purchase a new PC anytime in the next 18 months. The analysts state, "Windows 8 does not appear to be spurring an upgrade cycle."
If that holds up, it might be bad news for both Microsoft as well as PC makers who have seen overall PC sales decline in 2011 so far ahead of the Windows 8 launch.
Source: Investors.com
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