Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Subscribe
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Subscribe
    Home Latest News
    • Mobile

    Windows 8, Surface: A Fresh Start, but Buyers May Need Convincing

    Written by

    Michelle Maisto
    Published October 27, 2012
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

      Microsoft announced the global availability of its long-awaited Windows 8 platform at a New York City event Oct. 25, along with its Surface tablet running Windows RT, a version of the OS for ARM-based tablets.

      “This is probably the most important announcement of Microsoft’s history since the launch of its Windows 3.0 in 1990,” Malik Saadi, a principal analyst with Informa Telecoms & Media, said in an Oct. 25 research note. “This is not just a product announcement; it is a new strategic direction that will redefine the way computers are used.”

      With Windows 8, Microsoft waves good-bye to “personal computers” and hello to “personalized computing,” Saadi added. It’s a shift away from keyboards and mice to multiple input methods—touch is critical, but so is voice and even video, as Microsoft co-founder and Chairman Bill Gates said in a recent video on the Next at Microsoft blog.

      Saadi added that Windows 8 will also enable Microsoft to grab opportunities in markets where it was unable to before, “including tablets, smartphones, set-top boxes and other consumer electronics devices.”

      A much-need update for the brand, Windows 8 “is no longer just the operating system—it’s the core of the ‘Windows experience,'” Jack Narcotta, an analyst with Technology Business Research (TBR) told eWEEK.

      “Office is not just spreadsheets, email and documents, it’s the extension of your ‘Windows life.’ Surface is a stage on which all this may play out.”

      Windows 8 became available as a download to upgrade existing PCs at 12:01 a.m. local time Oct. 26. PCs running Windows XP, Visa or Windows 7 are qualified to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for $39.99. Eligible Windows 7 PCs purchased between June 2 and Jan. 31, 2013, can upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for $14.99 with the Windows Upgrade Offer.

      For anyone who has been holding out on a hardware purchase, Microsoft partners, including Lenovo, Dell and Hewlett-Packard have readied “more than 1,000 certified PCs and tablets, including Microsoft Surface,” that were available for the Oct. 26 launch, Microsoft said.

      That’s of course 1,000 models.

      “They ordered a few million,” Roger Kay, principal analyst with Endpoint Technologies, told eWEEK in regard to the Surface. “So they’re expecting them to move.”

      Regarding Microsoft’s high hopes, TBR’s Narcotta points to a comment Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer made during the day’s presentation.

      “Ballmer was emphatic—there are 670 million PCs out there ‘just waiting to be upgraded to Windows 8.’ If one reads between the lines, the message is clear: Microsoft is confident Windows 8 is the best tool set for its partners, and it is their mission to go forth and rebuild the consumer PC market and fortify the enterprise.”

      According to an upcoming report from Gartner, 90 percent of enterprises plan to put off broad-scale deployments of Windows 8 at least through 2014. Consumers are going to be critical to Windows 8’s success.

      “In many ways, Microsoft has already sold enterprises Windows 8,” Gartner analyst Michael Gartenberg told eWEEK. He added that today’s was the first Microsoft event he’d ever been to where the talk was first and foremost about the user—consumers—and only later turned to the enterprise.

      “Microsoft’s job now is to really explain this to consumers. This is not a time for conceptual marketing, with singing and dancing and music,” said Gartenberg, referring to Microsoft’s recently launched television ad for the Surface. “They need to make consumers understand why they should care. They have to make themselves attractive to my mother.”

      Current Analysis analyst Avi Greengart objects to the suggestion that Microsoft doesn’t already have a relationship with consumers.

      “It’s not a matter of Microsoft engaging with consumers for the first time but of creating an OS that reaches down to smartphones instead of a phone OS that reaches up to tablets.”

      The question now, says Greengart, is whether consumers with dollars to spend will buy a supplemental device, like a tablet, or choose to upgrade their laptops. And if they do go for a new laptop, will they choose a new Windows 8 machine “or just what’s $399 at Costco.”

      Microsoft needs to enter the conversation,” he added, “and convince people not to supplement, and when they do update their laptop to get something that’s highly capable.”

      Or, at least to just buy a Surface.

      Of all the devices Microsoft showed off at its New York event—”things that turn and twist and bend!” laughed Gartner’s Gartenberg—the most striking device, he said, was the Surface.

      “A tremendous amount of thought went into it, said Gartenberg. “It’s the device that most clearly embodies what Microsoft is trying to do—which is likely exactly why they made it.”

      Follow Michelle Maisto on Twitter.

      Michelle Maisto
      Michelle Maisto
      Michelle Maisto has been covering the enterprise mobility space for a decade, beginning with Knowledge Management, Field Force Automation and eCRM, and most recently as the editor-in-chief of Mobile Enterprise magazine. She earned an MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University.

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Artificial Intelligence

      9 Best AI 3D Generators You Need...

      Sam Rinko - June 25, 2024 0
      AI 3D Generators are powerful tools for many different industries. Discover the best AI 3D Generators, and learn which is best for your specific use case.
      Read more
      Cloud

      RingCentral Expands Its Collaboration Platform

      Zeus Kerravala - November 22, 2023 0
      RingCentral adds AI-enabled contact center and hybrid event products to its suite of collaboration services.
      Read more
      Artificial Intelligence

      8 Best AI Data Analytics Software &...

      Aminu Abdullahi - January 18, 2024 0
      Learn the top AI data analytics software to use. Compare AI data analytics solutions & features to make the best choice for your business.
      Read more
      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Video

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2024 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×