Microsoft wowed everyone last month at it's BUILD event in Anaheim, California, where the company took the wraps off their "biggest bet yet"; Windows 8.
Today, an announcement by Channel Nomics, a business analysis company, said that a study performed by the "Boston Consulting Group" (BCG) found that four of ten survey participants said they would choose Windows for their preferred tablet OS.
The company said that the findings were strange, considering that the tablets aren't even available yet;
"BCG’s findings are surprising considering that Microsoft’s current crop of tablet implementations with Windows 7 and Windows 8, which was designed for greater touch-driven interaction and tablet use, are hardly best sellers." They also went on to say that the survey suggests Microsoft will have a hit on its hands when it releases Windows 8 for tablets.
The study group notes that Gartner doesn't predict that Apple will dip below 75 percent market share, and also doesn't believe that Apple will lose to a Windows tablet. Instead, they believe that Microsoft will expand the tablet market, bringing in new buyers (such as larger enterprises) that wouldn't have purchased devices otherwise.
According to the group, tablets are beginning to find a place in the enterprise channel, as "solution providers" such as Dell and Lenovo begin to sell tablets alongside their PC and server lineup. They also point out that right now, the tablet is a consumer device first, and an enterprise device second. Additionally, an interesting point is raised by the release; "Microsoft has thousands more developer partners than Apple, as well as a rich library of legacy applications" which the company could use to gain an advantage in enterprise at this point in the race.
Finally, Channel Nomics believes that Microsoft will learn from Amazon and HP, who have been able to deliver tablet PC's at a much lower price point -- $99 -- a price which exhausted inventories in hours. They say that "Microsoft has always done a great job of helping its hardware partners drive down prices to spur volume consumption. It might be able to do the same with tablets."
It'll be interesting to see whether or not Microsoft does aim the tablets at the enterprise market, or tries to push equally for both, however, at this point it's anyones guess.
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