Market research firm IDC has kept a solid eye on Windows 8 since release, examining not just the sales figures of the new OS, but also what opinion consumers and businesses have of it.
And while most people expect Microsoft’s latest and greatest to kick into high gear this year (and take the PC sales up along with it), IDC believes that this is not going to happen until the end of 2013, at least. Research analyst Rajani Singh believes:
“IDC expects the second half of 2013 to regain some marginal momentum partly as a rubber band effect from 2012, and largely thanks to the outcome of industry restructuring, better channel involvement, and potentially greater acceptance of Windows 8.”
Obviously, the pesky old (at least for Redmond) Windows XP has a lot of say in all of this, and things depend on when people, particularly businesses finally decide to upgrade from the old OS:
“We also anticipate a new refresh cycle momentum in the commercial segment driven by the end of Window XP life support.”
The folks over at the research firm do believe that the lack of touchscreen units have also affected Windows 8 sales, as Microsoft’s newest operating system bets big on its touch capabilities.
“A lack of touchscreen components has contributed to a limited supply of touch-enabled Windows 8 models – being out of step with the touch focus of Windows 8, and appearing relatively expensive compared to other options.”
The lack of such devices has not allowed Windows 8 to showcase all of its features, IDC said in its new report. No room to disagree there.
