It has been a fair while since release, but excitement is still missing when it comes to Windows 8 sales. Microsoft is mum on the matter, and though some retailers and hardware vendors have said that they are seeing signs of improvement, things are still a tad jaded.
Attention is now fixed on the upcoming Windows Blue update (a better way to put it would be the company wide Blue initiative), and seeing whether it can pull off a rescue and recovery operation.
A Norma Equity Research analyst by the name of Rick Sherlund believes this could very well be the case. Talking to Barron’s the market analyst noted:
“Enterprise users and professional/consumers (prosumers) that are more attached to Office as a productivity tool have been in no rush to upgrade to new Windows 8 devices, but there is reason to be more optimistic about the 2H’13.”
And one of the biggest reasons for Windows 8 lackluster early uptake is the Microsoft’s attempt to bridge the PC and tablet markets, so to speak. That, and the fact that only a limited selection of devices are available in the market that are powered by the latest operating system:
“Some of the reason is Windows 8’s awkwardness and compromise in trying to bridge the two platforms and some is that it will take time to deliver more compelling form factors and lower prices and a richer ecosystem of developers and apps for the Microsoft store.”
Still, there is no reason to worry — at least not for Redmond. The analyst says that Windows 8 will bounce back a bit in the second half of the year, and Windows Blue will offer it a fair amount of help:
“More apps are to be introduced for the Windows 8 store, enterprises will have had more time to pilot and adopt the technology, more exciting form factors will finally have been delivered, and Windows ‘Blue’ should have been delivered to address form factors below 10 inches such as the popular 7 inch form factor.”
So essentially, everything will fall into place in the coming months.
Recent reports suggest that Windows Blue is set to see light of the day sometime in August. The first public preview of the new update is expected in June.
