iTnews
  • Home
  • News
  • Technology
  • Hardware

Will Windows 8 miss the tablet train?

By Liam Tung on Nov 30, 2011 9:00AM
Will Windows 8 miss the tablet train?

Not like the days of Netscape.

Microsoft's sluggish lurch towards touch tablets may see Windows 8 released to a world that has "changed beyond recognition", analysts have warned.

In earlier times Microsoft was a "fast-follower", releasing Internet Explorer shortly after Netscape. Today, Microsoft's fifth-mover status for its Metro-led tablet landing places it well behind the pack and likely out of reach of the benefits that come for fast followers. 

"Product strategists often look to be 'fast followers' in their product markets," according to Forrester analyst JP Gownder.

"Perhaps the most famous example is the original browser war of the 1990s: Microsoft’s fast-following Internet Explorer drove incumbent Netscape out of the market altogether," 

But Microsoft is neither fast follower nor laggard in tablets.

A Microsoft engineer gave Apple co-founder Steve Jobs the idea for the iPad, according to Walter Isaacson's biography.

The Redmond engineer initially wanted Apple to license its technology to launch a tablet but it had one fatal flaw -- a stylus. "As soon as you have a stylus, you're dead," said Jobs. 

Apple and Samsung will have likely released their third generation tablets by the time Windows 8 launches, while newer players such as Amazon's Kindle Fire drive down prices and with content move the tablet another step away from the stylus. 

"Microsoft has missed the peak of consumer desire for a product they haven't yet released."

Sentiments towards Windows as a tablet operating system have changed rapidly, according to Forrester.

In early 2011, Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman predicted Windows 8 would "pose serious problems" for Android, based on research that showed 46 percent of US consumers who would consider buying a tablet would prefer a Windows system, compared with nine percent who preferred Android. 

Six months later, preference levels for Windows amongst consumers had dropped to 25 percent. 

Got a news tip for our journalists? Share it with us anonymously here.
Copyright © iTnews.com.au . All rights reserved.
Tags:
amazonanalystfireforresterhardwareipadnetscapenooksamsungsoftwaretablettouchpad

Partner Content

Accenture and Google Cloud team up to create a loveable, Australian-first, renewable energy product
Promoted Content Accenture and Google Cloud team up to create a loveable, Australian-first, renewable energy product
Avoiding CAPEX by making on-premise IT more cloud-like
Promoted Content Avoiding CAPEX by making on-premise IT more cloud-like
Security "mindset shift" needed to protect organisations
Promoted Content Security "mindset shift" needed to protect organisations
Security: Understanding the fundamentals of governance, risk & compliance
Promoted Content Security: Understanding the fundamentals of governance, risk & compliance

Sponsored Whitepapers

Extracting the value of data using Unified Observability
Extracting the value of data using Unified Observability
Planning before the breach: You can’t protect what you can’t see
Planning before the breach: You can’t protect what you can’t see
Beyond FTP: Securing and Managing File Transfers
Beyond FTP: Securing and Managing File Transfers
NextGen Security Operations: A Roadmap for the Future
NextGen Security Operations: A Roadmap for the Future
Video: Watch Juniper talk about its Aston Martin partnership
Video: Watch Juniper talk about its Aston Martin partnership

Events

  • Micro Focus Information Management & Governance (IM&G) Forum 2022
  • CRN Channel Meets: CyberSecurity Live Event
  • IoT Insights: Secure By Design for manufacturing
  • Cyber Security for Government Summit
  • Forrester Technology & Innovation Asia Pacific 2022
By Liam Tung
Nov 30 2011
9:00AM
0 Comments

Related Articles

  • 7-Eleven disables facial image capture on customer feedback tablets
  • Samsung starts 3-nanometre chip production
  • Qantas calls time on IBM, Fujitsu in tech modernisation
  • Toshiba, Sony, others lose court fight against EU cartel fine
Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn Share on Whatsapp Email A Friend

Most Read Articles

Qantas calls time on IBM, Fujitsu in tech modernisation

Qantas calls time on IBM, Fujitsu in tech modernisation

PayTo rollout kicks off

PayTo rollout kicks off

Researchers hacked Oracle servers to demo serious vulnerability

Researchers hacked Oracle servers to demo serious vulnerability

Neobank Volt exits the banking industry

Neobank Volt exits the banking industry

Digital Nation

Crypto experts optimistic about future of Bitcoin: Block
Crypto experts optimistic about future of Bitcoin: Block
The security threat of quantum computing
The security threat of quantum computing
COVER STORY: Operationalising net zero through the power of IoT
COVER STORY: Operationalising net zero through the power of IoT
Integrity, ethics and board decisions in the digital age
Integrity, ethics and board decisions in the digital age
IBM global chief data officer on the rise of the number crunchers
IBM global chief data officer on the rise of the number crunchers
All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in any form without prior authorisation.
Your use of this website constitutes acceptance of nextmedia's Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.