The president of Fujitsu, a major PC manufacturer, has now blamed Windows 8 for the company missing its most recent sales targets.

Some reports indicate Fujitsu computer sales are less than 80% of what they were a year ago, when the highly popular Windows 7 was the operating system of choice.

PC makers like Fujitsu often count on new versions of Windows to boost hardware sales. This is because many consumers wait until the release of a new operating system (OS) to purchase a long-desired computer.

Fujitsu Sales Take a Plunge

However, at least one report says that sales of Fujitsu PCs running the newest Windows OS are down 21 per cent, compared to the same period last year.

What Fujitsu's president, Masami Yamamoto, calls a "weak" appetite on the part of consumers for Microsoft's Windows 8 has now prompted him to warn that his company's overall sales for the current financial year will be lower than many have expected. (Source: bloomberg.com)

No one knows for certain how many copies of Windows 8 have been sold, overall. Microsoft has quoted some encouraging figures, but these are based on operating system licenses sold, not computer systems actually running the new operating system.

Many of those licenses may cover computers still on store shelves or in manufacturers' warehouses.

Tablet Computers Hurting PC Sales

Some analysts argue the type of people who might have purchased a new Windows 8 laptop are instead getting by with a tablet computer: an Apple iPad, a Google Android, or the like.

That could be true, particularly for people who already own a desktop or laptop computer and are now looking for a second machine for casual Internet use.

There's also a hardware piece to the puzzle: until the release of Windows 7 in 2009, each new version of Windows demanded more from a computer's hardware, forcing many users to purchase a new PC to use the new OS effectively.

However, both Windows 7 and Windows 8 run well on most computers built in the last few years. Many users may therefore refrain from buying a new computer system until their old one gives out.

If all this is true, then Microsoft's success in selling its new OS may not translate into a comparable sales boost for its computer manufacturing partners. (Source: techeye.net)