Investors.com - "Microsoft Windows 8 Tablets, PCs Meeting Expectations"
http://news.investors.com/technology/111212-633064-microsoft-surface-tablets-could-gain-market-share.htm
"New research says Microsoft's (MSFT) just-released Surface tablets with Windows 8 might be able to steal some market share from Apple's (AAPL) iPad, even while overall tablet and PC sales remain slow.
The new Windows 8 Surface tablet will likely "exploit new price/feature niches" and likely gain market share, Cowen & Co. analysts Robert Stone and James Medvedeff wrote in a research note out Monday.
But they said a poll of 1,225 U.S. consumers found that about two-thirds of consumers don't plan to buy a new computer anytime within the next 18 months, bad news not just for Microsoft but also for PC makers such as Dell (DELL) and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ). "Windows 8 does not appear to be spurring an upgrade cycle," the analysts said.
Cowen surveyed PC and Mac users.
About 21% of all consumers plan to buy a Windows 8 laptop, desktop or ultrabook computer. That would equate to a "gradual" Windows 8 adoption, say the analysts. Windows "upgrades won't likely reverse recent PC unit declines," they wrote.
About 58% of current PC users say they don't want to adjust to the new interface. Another 10% of users say Windows 8 is "not as cool as a Mac." Windows 8 includes a new touch-screen interface that will take some getting used to for PC mouse/keyboard users.
Pacific Crest Securities analyst Brendan Barnicle on Sunday raised his estimates for Microsoft because of in-line sales for the Surface. Barnicle surveyed retailers in the U.S., Canada and Germany, about 75% of whom say Windows 8 is meeting expectations.
"In our third round of retail checks, Windows 8 and Surface continue to meet expectations, with Surface actually slowing from prior weeks," Barnicle wrote in a research note.
About 25% of U.S. retailers say Windows 8 computers are selling more quickly than expected.
Microsoft stock was down nearly 2% in midday trading Monday."
