A new report claims Microsoft has a very ambitious goal to sell a ton of Windows tablets during the biggest shopping period of the year, and it will spend a bunch of money to make that happen. Winsupersite posted up word, according to an internal Microsoft retail document, their goal is to sell 16 million Windows tablets during the holidays.
The report also claims that Microsoft will spend $405 million on their retail sales efforts to make that happen. That number is far higher than the $241 million retail budget in 2012. Of this year's spending efforts, $131 million will be used to fund incentives and offers to the public. That includes a $25 gift card in some markets when a person buys a new Windows tablet or touch PC hat will allow users to download apps, videos and music from the Windows and Xbox stores.
The 8-inch Lenovo Miix2 is one of the many Windows tablets on sale for the holidays.
The report also claims just 20 percent of new PCs that will ship to retailers this year will have Windows 8.1 pre-installed. Microsoft will offer some stores a Windows 8.1 Upgrade Kit that will be installed on a USB drive so that they can update PCs to the latest version of the OS. Microsoft has already launched its Windows "store-in-a-store" inside hundreds of Best Buy locations and the report claims other stores that sell Windows products have received updated retail kits.
Microsoft is already spending lots of money on TV ads that refer to Windows 8.1 as "the new Windows" and showcase things like the Start button. The report says that marketing message will continue through the holiday shopping season. However, selling 16 million tablets, even the recent cheaper 8-inch models like the Lenovo Miix2, shown above, is a huge number and it remains to be seen if Microsoft can reach that mark.
Source: Winsupersite | Image via Lenovo
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