Hasta La Gadget!

Microsoft earlier this week made a point of noting that there have been 40 million downloads of Windows 8 since it launched a month ago, putting it ahead of where Windows 7 was at the same point in its sales cycle. But according to figures out today from NPD, in the midst of an overall slowdown in PC sales, this is not translating into robust hardware sales in the influential U.S. market.

U.S. sales of Windows devices in the last month are down by 21% compared to the same period a year ago, with Windows-powered notebooks — generally in decline since the rise of tablets and smartphones — down by 24%. Desktop devices were down, too, but less, at 9%.

It gets worse. Microsoft has make a big bet on the touchscreen and tablets with Windows 8, but so far, NPD’s Stephen Baker says that Windows 8 tablet sales “have been almost non-existent.” Unit sales, he says, have been less than 1% of all Windows 8 device sales to date. The caveat is that NPD’s numbers do not include sales of Microsot’s own tablet, the Surface. (We are contacting Baker at NPD to see if he can give more detail on how those are selling and why they have been left out.)

So do these numbers indicate that — despite the record-breaking sales we’ve seen so far for online shopping this holiday season, which often gives an annual boost to the consumer electronics industry — Microsoft has a turkey on its hands in the form of Windows 8? Not exactly, says NPD. The problems could be just as attributable to a sluggish market at this point.

“After just four weeks on the market, it’s still early to place blame on Windows 8 for the ongoing weakness in the PC market,” writes Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at NPD. “We still have the whole holiday selling season ahead of us, but clearly Windows 8 did not prove to be the impetus for a sales turnaround some had hoped for.”

There are still devices being sold with earlier versions of Windows, and NPD says that since launch Windows 8 hasn’t been performing as well against legacy equipment, compared to the same period in the Windows 7 sales cycle. It says 58% of Windows devices sold are loaded with Windows 8, versu 83% powered by Windows 7 one month after its launch.

“The bad Back-to-School period left a lot of inventory in the channel,” Baker explains.

Silver lining: hybrid devices — notebooks with touchscreens, such as the Asus Transformer, pictured — seemed to be doing alright. Yes, they accounted for just 6% of notebook sales, but with an average price of $867 (compared to $433 across all Windows devices) they show that there is at least some appetite for premium products, an area where Windows OEMs traditionally compete against Apple.

MultiTouch has stepped forward to introduce what they deem to be the first fully integrated Windows 8 interactive displays in the world, coming in 42” and 55” sizes. Called the MultiTaction Cell multitouch displays, they come fully integrated with the Windows 8 environment. If you want to be more specific, you can refer to them as the MultiTaction Cell 42” (MT420W8) and 55” (MT550W8), and regardless of which model you decide to bring home, they will run on the Intel Core i7 processor, delivering support for simultaneous use of unlimited touch with hands, in addition to native pen tracking and real life object interaction which can only be made possible via Windows 8.

Needless to say, these displays will come in handy for use in public spaces, since clients can also make use of the applications from the Windows 8 store, not to mention having a go at Angry Birds as a breather since both 42” and 55” models can run applications that are compatible across smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktop PCs. There is no word on pricing as at press time.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Korg Unveils New MicroStation Keyboard, Epson Moverio Offers Live Subtitling For Hearing Impaired Folks,

Windows 8, Microsoft reported yesterday, has sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses in its first month of retail. That’s an indisputably huge number, outpacing even Windows 7 sales at launch. But it’s also a number that raises more questions than answers. More »

Just a month after its official launch, Microsoft’s latest operating system, Windows 8, has already sold 40 million. And that number is growing. Announcing the milestone via Microsoft’s Windows blog, the company says that Windows 8 is also outpacing Windows 7 in terms of upgrades. “The journey is just beginning, but I am pleased to announce today that we have sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses so far,”said Tami Reller, Chief Marketing Officer for Windows.

Microsoft’s announcement today will not only bring in more Windows 8 users, but it will also attract more developers to build apps that are compatible with the new platform. So far, the number of apps on the Windows Store is increasing steadily, with over 20,000 apps this week. Microsoft plans to up the ante to 30,000 apps by the end of the year. Microsoft adds that some apps in the Windows Store are already earning as much as $25,000. That’s because developers can keep the 80 percent of the revenue they make from the downloads.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Retina Adobe Photoshop CS6 coming on the 11th of December?, Would You Name Your Baby Hashtag?,

The folks at Microsoft are glad to report that they’ve reached 40 million Windows 8 licenses sold in the new operating system’s first month on the market. Microsoft notes specifically that “to-date Microsoft has sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses” and wants to make it clear that they’re not just pumped up about this pace of upgrade and new users, they’re glad to share that it’s outpacing the adoption of Windows 7.

Microsoft’s aim with Windows 8 (it’s aim amongst many, many aims, of course) was to make the upgrade process from Windows 7 to Windows 8 as easy as it could possible be. With news today from Microsoft’s own Tami Reller setting the tone, industry and financial analysts galore sat with their fingernails grinding into their kneecaps at the news at the Credit Suisse 2012 Annual Technology Conference. Reller’s presentation was brief, and let us all know the simplicity of the truth.

“The journey is just beginning, but I am pleased to announce today that we have sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses so far.”” – Reller

It’s worth mentioning that Microsoft’s latest update on the number of Windows 7 operating system licenses sold was over 600 million to-date in June – that more than a few months after the company announced 525 million Windows 7 licenses (in January.) This news was also accompanied (earlier this week) by a tip that Microsoft had sold a whopping 750,000 Xbox 360 gaming consoles over the holiday weekend – impressive for a system that’s more than its fair share of months in the market.

What’s missing from this equation is the sales numbers pushing the rest of the Microsoft made-and-sold products. If you’re thinking we’re going to get the low-down on how many Microsoft Surface tablets have been sold thus far, you might want to think again. With the less than pleasing press those bigs of hardware have received thus far, we wouldn’t be surprised if they keep said numbers under wraps until investors come knocking.

[via Microsoft]

Windows 8 licenses blast past 40 million sold is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
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