Report: Fujitsu President Says Windows 8 Demand Weak, Intros New Smartphone
Fujitsu's president says that Windows 8 demand has been weak, linking the new OS to a decline in the company's PC sales.
Early reviews of the Windows 8 operating system have ranged from excitement about the software's bold move toward a more visual computing environment, to doubts from some that the software would be welcomed by legacy users who might be put off by such a dramatic revamp.
Some analysts, attempting to take the public pulse regarding the new OS, have even , comparing the spending habits of Apple shoppers to Microsoft shoppers (Apple generally fared better).
But despite the still-developing picture regarding Windows 8 adoption, one high-level Japanese PC executive has made his thoughts clear, stating that demand for the new OS is not as strong as some might have hoped.
Yesterday, during an interview session with eight media outlets in Tokyo, Fujitsu's President Masami Yamamoto offered a brief update on the company's state of affairs. According to a report from Bloomberg, Yamamoto said initial consumer demand for Windows 8 is "weak." In addition to weak demand for the software, Yamamoto also blamed Europe's recent economic woes for the slump, telling reporters that overall PC shipments for the fiscal year ending on March 31 would be down by one million from the company's previous 7 million-unit estimate.
And, according to market research firm NPD, in a report released just last month, since the launch of Windows 8, sales of Windows devices have declined by about 21 percent compared to the same sales period last year. NPD vice president Stephen Baker said, "it's still early to place blame on Windows 8 for the ongoing weakness in the PC market… but clearly Windows 8 did not prove to be the impetus for a sales turnaround some had hoped for."
Fujitsu also used yesterday's meeting to announce plans to release a modified version of its Raku-Raku smartphone (easy-to-use smartphone) in the U.S. and Europe. Introduced earlier this year in Japan, the Raku-Raku is the company's Android device designed to be more user-friendly for senior citizens. Fujitsu's new handset is scheduled to hit the Western market sometime in 2013.