Get Adobe Flash player

Report: Consumers Not Interested in Windows on Tablets  

Hardware Canucks > News > Mobile News > Report: Consumers Not Interested in Windows on Tablets
Share |
Posted by Sam Reynolds — November 29th, 2011, 7:08 PM

Microsoft has ‘missed the boat’ on Windows based tablets according to a new report by market research group Forrester Research.

According to the report by Forrester Research, only 25% of consumers would be interested in purchasing a tablet running Windows. In contrast, Forrester’s market research said that in Q1 2011 46% of consumers would be interested in a hypothetical Windows tablet.

“For tablets, though, Windows really isn’t a fast follower. Rather it’s (at best) a fifth-mover after iPad, Android tablets like the Samsung Galaxy Tab, HP’s now-defunct webOS tablet, and the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet,” said the authors of the report, JP Gownder and Sarah Rotman Epps.

Forrester’s conclusion is that while Windows 8 will do well in the desktop world, Microsoft is simply making too late an entry into tablet culture.

“While Windows’ product strategists can learn from these products, other players have come a long way in executing and refining their products — Apple, Samsung, and others have already launched second-generation products and will likely be into their third generation by the time Windows 8 launches,” Mr. Gownder and Ms. Rotman Epps said.

Hewlett Packard is expected to unveil their Windows 8 tablet at January’s Consumer Electronics Show.

 

 

Related Articles


  • JimWolf

    Incredibly short sighted assumption. The tablet market is still in it’s infancy. If what’s on the market is supposed to be a refined experience, the tablet market will be dead in less than 5 years.

    The total integration MS is aiming for with Windows8 will make for a compelling platform. This has been their plan since they decided to scrap WinMobile. WM 6.5 was a significant update but instead of calling it a full version aka “7″ they saved that naming for a rebuild from the ground up. The success of Windows7 OS led them to lend brand credence to the Windows Phone which they originally said would have no number attachment. They also realized Win7 was not what their market wanted in a tablet. Windows 8 aims to solve that.

    Apple has proven that when it comes to basic everyday tasks, people like a single simple UI that is the same across all devices. However Apples iOS approach has pigeon-holed the company when it comes to UI enhancements and interaction. There’s just not much you can do with it without breaking it, minimalism has it’s drawbacks.

    The Metro interface MS introduced with WP and have since been folding into XBOX Live is going to offer a single but modular interface that offers ubiquity and seamless integration across devices. Simple but scalable, Familiarity across devices but distinction in their roles.

    It takes time to build, Microsoft has taken their time and refused to rush to market (Honeycomb,**PLAYBOOK**,WebOS). If consumers are going to embrace the Tablet market long term, tablets need to be more than they are right now. What I’ve seen looks good, really good, I’m just praying they don’t eff up the execution.

    TL:DR
    The only thing that’s going to hold MS back in 2012 and in the future from reaching a 1 or 2 spot, is the fact that their marketing department is run by your high-school spirit squad and AV club.

  • Dale Van Helfteren

    I think windows for tablets needs to be slimmed down a ton before we will enjoy it on tablets. There isn’t the power in the tablets.

  • Exmortis

    I own an Iconia Tab W500, love it use it weekly, far more useful then an Ipad, Android or a clunky worthless playbook. Windows is my primary OS for my desktop and laptops, all my applications run on windows, why do I want a new seperate OS for a tablet to yet buy all new apps?

    The article isn’t short sighted, the usrs are. But the Isheep movement isn’t likely to end any time soon.

  • BlueByte

    If windows is able to push something out quick enough to stifle the need for something like appblast, or something similar, then there is hope. I use my tablet probably 50% of the time now over my desktop for work. But I can always use more, a combo between a remote cloud app source, and a windows tablet would make me look for a new tablet. Microsoft still has time to get something out the door.

  • JimWolf

    You’re right, and that is exactly what they are doing.

    WindowsPhone7 is a lightweight smooth ARM based Platform

    Windows8 for tablets will be an evolution of this with additional functionality making use of a larger input and somewhat more powerful hardware.

    Windows8 for the desktop will add an optional top layer Metro UI, coupled with activesync to offer Live Tile mirroring and if I’m not mistaken app compatibility via emulation. Desktop CPUs should have the leverage to make overhead a non-issue.

    If you’re talking full windows on a Tablet, it should be possible soon; IvyBridge ULV, Ram density advancements, SSD improvements, ect…

  • JimWolf

    Hmmn, the article is just reporting on Forrester Research’s poor analysis of the data they gathered. It’s a headline grabber and good flamebait that should put their firm in the tech news. What I thought was shortsighted was the finality of their conclusion based on something that has yet to reach the market. These are the same kind of analysts that said the Ipad would flop and be another appleTV.

    I agree that the iSheep movement isn’t going to end soon, but it is reaching a peak and it will eventually end. Apple’s marketshare will rise some and maintain itself, but that leaves a whole lot of room for competition.

  • Christian Lopez

    “WindowsPhone7 is a lightweight smooth ARM based Platform

    Windows8 for tablets will be an evolution of this with additional functionality making use of a larger input and somewhat more powerful hardware.

    Windows8 for the desktop will add an optional top layer Metro UI, coupled with activesync to offer Live Tile mirroring and if I’m not mistaken app compatibility via emulation. Desktop CPUs should have the leverage to make overhead a non-issue.”

    THIS

    i could see this being very good experience

  • lkashl

    I’d dispute this purely based on the fact that Windows 8 on tablets purports to maintain compatibility with the majority of pre-existing x86 apps from the PC. Should make it a much more versatile and appealing operating system then the competition imo.
    Also a reduction in demand of about 21% over the duration of 2Q’s with no notable advancements in tablet technology but notable progression in the development of windows 8 makes the stats seem a bit dubious:S

  • Rustoumo

    I actually want Windows on a tablet… I would at least be able to do whatever I want on it, like installing games and what not, without having to pay extra like with the ipad or be in a totally unfamiliar place with android. I’m waiting for the a good tablet to come ou with Windows on it before buying one… the current ones are… not exactly to my taste.

  • http://www.facebook.com/twoerner Tommy Woerner

    I agree with this article. People want iPads, not tablets. I have an iPad and it’s fine and all but it’s in no way a replacement to a laptop and neither is any other tablet I’ve seen or used.

    You don’t have any ports for connectivity, a big hard drive, a good file management system, NO KEYBOARD, NO MOUSE, why the heck would I even need Windows on a tablet? I’m not gonna type my term paper on a tablet.

    Tablets are just entertainment consumption devices. Something to watch Hulu on, read a book, play a game, browse the web. It’s basically about battery life. And none of those things require Windows, in fact, Windows would only over-complicate it.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Matthew-Maloney/100000659776555 Matthew Maloney

    This is silly, many folks love windows 7, myself included. I am actually waiting to buy a tablet that runs a windows OS like windows 8.

    I want a tablet that can do everything a desktop can do. I want the option to plug in a keyboard and mouse and run all the stuff I like on my windows 7 pc.