It’s interesting that the best analysts in the biz seem to think that Windows 8 is to blame for the fact that shipments of traditional PCs are flatter than usual. There could be another cause, a simpler one: people may simply be buying tablets or smartphones instead of PCs.
People could be going out and buying MacBooks, iPads, the Nexus 7 and the huge screen Android phone models. Up until now it was believed that tablets are bought as companion devices, as extras to the PCs, but now they’ve become replacements for computers. And then we have the Microsoft Surface Tablet, that tries to combine the desktop and tablet experience and it’s already seen by some as a future success, although you can’t really tell right now. While the analysts may believe that people are actually on standby for Windows 8, the waiting is not as exciting as it was for previous Windows versions.
Remember that before Windows 7 launched we didn’t have the iPad, so there wasn’t any big alternative to think about, of course, unless you consider the Mac OS. And the hype surrounding Win 7 and adoption were huge, but this time things have changed… Meanwhile, Apple offers Retina Display laptops and people are crowding to see what those beasts can do. The future may spell trouble for Microsoft…
