Although a lot of hype surrounded Windows 8 before and at the time of its launch, it has apparently failed to gain much traction in the PC world. One of the key reasons for this may be the high licensing fees PC vendors have to pay to Microsoft. However, that may change soon as Microsoft is expected to slash down its licensing fees.
DigiTimes is reporting that according to its sources, Microsoft is bringing down the licensing fees for PC makers who are shipping the OS on their machines. Since desktop PC sales have already hit the bottom, it is primarily the Windows 8 notebook sales that have suffered due to the high prices.
So now, if as expected, Microsoft does decide to bring down its licensing fees, vendors will finally be able to push out their Windows 8 machines at more affordable rates. Not only that, there is an expectation that many vendors will venture to build hybrid machines, the likes of touch-screen laptops that we have recently seen.
The move is certainly to benefit Microsoft too in the long-run. If Windows 8 is unable to muster good sales, it means poor overall revenue for Microsoft from the new OS. However, if the licensing fees come down, and with them, the retail prices of Windows 8 laptops are significantly trimmed, this may entice an average customer enough for a purchase. And that can lead to better sales of Windows 8 machines, bringing more revenue for the software giant.
The fault may not exactly lie with Windows 8, which is a fairly impressive piece of software from Microsoft. The current issue is that users are increasingly disillusioned of PCs and rather, want to go for mobile devices. However, mobile devices still can’t provide enough computational prowess to compete with a complete PC.
If Microsoft handles this right, it may help the PC sector recover and bring a much-needed relief in the form of better sales. Let’s have our fingers crossed for such a favorable outcome.
Source: DigiTimes
Courtesy: CNET
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