Sales of Windows 8 haven't met expectations, according to a new report citing unnamed sources.
Windows 8, along with new PCs that have Windows 8 pre-installed, have been available to purchase for three weeks now. But are early sales already tanking? A well-known Microsoft insider website claims that is indeed the case.
Paul Thurrott, of Supersite for Windows, writes today that, based on unnamed sources, "Sales of Windows 8 PCs are well below Microsoft’s internal projections and have been described inside the company as disappointing." The article doesn't go into any more specifics in terms of unit sales, nor does it break down how many Windows 8 PCs have been sold versus how many software upgrades have been purchased.
The article does claim, again via its unnamed insider, that Microsoft puts part of the low Windows 8 sales blame on PC makers for creating new devices that were, in the company's opinion, "lackluster." However, it also speculates that the low Windows 8 sales could be caused by a number of other factors, including the UI design of Windows 8 itself and the overall state of the world economy.
Of course, Microsoft may have seen this coming and that could be one of the reasons why it decided to cut Steven Sinofsky, the head of the Windows division, loose this week. We have contacted Microsoft to see if they wish to comment on this report.
Update: A Microsoft spokesperson has responded but has told Neowin, "Microsoft doesn’t comment on rumors or speculation."
Source: Supersite for Windows | Image via Microsoft
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