Possible End of the Road for Windows 8 Hybrids

Microsoft took a big gamble with Windows 8 when they based the operating system around the concept of touch. Given the prevalence of touchscreen devices over the past couple of years, it is only natural to expect that the market for touch is growing. Tapping into this growing market was the objective of Microsoft when they came up with the Windows 8 hybrids. Merging the functionalities of a tablet and laptop, the hybrids carried solid novelty appeal but it seems like the end of the road for them has come.

As it turns, people do love using the keyboard and mouse and aren’t simply inclined to abandon the conventional computer experience for touch devices. This is epitomized with the latest round of discounts announced by leading Windows 8 hybrid devices’ sellers. Some of the discounts run so deep you would be surprised. It is no secret that Windows 8 has failed to set the market on fire the way Microsoft was expecting it to. The discounts for the hybrids further propel this notion.

According to some reports, people interested in buying a Windows 8 powered hybrid, not that there are many, can enjoy discounts of up to 35%. The greatest discount you will find is the 35% slashed off the price of the Toshiba Satellite U925T-S2130. The Convertible Ultrabook can be yours for a price much lower than being quoted in the market. Even the most ardent of Microsoft supporters would have a hard time finding a positive aspect to the price cuts being made by the suppliers.

And it is not just the hybrids where Windows 8 is failing to make an impact. Touted by many to be a savior for the declining PC market, Windows 8 hasn’t exactly lived up to that billing. Though it was released near the end of the year when affecting the market significantly is not possible, Microsoft’s new OS couldn’t help turn the slide around. The PC market fell by 3.7% during 2012. Even after that, the market experts were optimistic about its future.

However, their optimism turned out to be false. Maybe they too were pinning their hopes to the performance of Windows 8 and had assumed that it would be widely accepted by PC users in quick time. Well, that didn’t happen and the PC sales keep on dwindling since the beginning of the year. The sales for Windows aren’t growing by more than 0.5% per month which is simply not acceptable given the state of the market.

The initial predictions for the PC market in 2013 were that it would grow by close to three percent. With just one quarter gone by, the projections have been changed drastically and now it is being expected that the market would contract rather than expand. The decline is projected to be around 1.3%. So whether it is touchscreen hybrid devices you talk about or PCs, Windows 8 isn’t performing well in either market. PCs are here to stay but the writing on the wall seems to have emerged for hybrids.

[Image via HP]