Microsoft’s Windows 8 has yet to capture the interest of consumers, a recent poll has found.
A phone survey conducted by The Associated Press and GfK
found of the 1,200 American polled, 52 per cent had not heard of
Windows 8 before the Oct. 25 release of the redesigned software.
Of those who had heard about Microsoft’s new operating system, 61 per
cent had little or no interest in purchasing a new laptop or desktop
computer powered by Windows 8, the poll found. Only 35 percent of those
had heard about the new system thought it would be a step up.
It is standard practice for Microsoft to release a new version of
Windows every two or three years. This time, however, the new release is
not just an upgrade — Windows 8 is the most extreme redesign of the
operating system since 1995. In fact, according to The Associated Press,
some analysts are billing Windows 8 as Microsoft’s most significant
creation since Bill Gates won the contract to produce an operating
system for IBM Corp.’s first personal computer in 1981.
Windows 8 is also a bid by Microsoft to appeal to Smartphone and tablet users.
So far, however, consumers have little interest in Microsoft’s
Surface tablet. According to the poll, 69 percent of respondents had
little or no interest in buying a Surface tablet.
This is not good news for Microsoft which has placed an order with
Asian component suppliers to build 3 million to 5 million Surface
tablets for this quarter, according to a report by The Wall Street
Journal (WSJ).
Mass production of the Surface tablets began earlier this month, the WSJ report said.
The device,
which is 9.3 millimeters thick and weighs 1.5 pounds, is similar in
size to Apple’s iPad at 9.4 millimeters thick and weighing 1.44 pounds.
The tablet has a 10.6-inch display, a built-in kickstand and magnetic
cover that doubles as a touch keyboard. The new device will run on the
Windows 8 operating system.
The Surface tablet is Microsoft’s best chance to steal customers from
rival tablet providers, chiefly Apple which has been successful with
its iPad, Amazon with its Kindle Fire and Google Inc.’s Nexus 7.
The company still has a long way to go, however, to grab the
attention of the average consumer. So far, Windows 8 and the Surface
tablet have resonated solely with “industry analysts, reporters,
technology blogs and gadget geeks,” the Associated Press poll found.
Microsoft is in the first phase of a reportedly $1-billion marketing
campaign that will incorporate a raft of television ads to promote
Windows 8 to a larger audience.
The poll did find, however, that Microsoft remains a mainstay in
people’s lives: 80 per cent of respondents with personal computers rely
on earlier versions of Windows as opposed to only 12 per cent that
operate on Apple’s Mac system.
Most survey respondents said they liked both Apple and Microsoft. The
Associated Press found 59 per cent said they had good impressions of
Apple versus 58 per cent for Microsoft.
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