14 DAY TRIAL // Research firm IDC released a new report this A.M. to reveal that PC sales have dropped 14 percent worldwide in the first quarter of 2013, with Windows 8 cited as one of the main reasons for this continuous decline.
As a result, Microsoft’s shares fell 4 percent to $29.07 in Frankfurt from $30.28, with analysts urging the Redmond-based technology company to launch a new product offensive and regain the lost market share.
“The company faces critical secular challenges given the deteriorating PC demand backdrop,” Heather Bellini, a New York-based analyst, was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.
“[Shares] will gradually deteriorate unless Microsoft successfully repositions itself as a more meaningful participant in the new era of consumer compute.”
Windows 8.1, the first major overhaul of Windows 8, is also expected to spawn updates for many other products in Microsoft’s range, including Internet Explorer, Surface, Windows Phone, and SkyDrive. According to sources familiar with the matter, the final version of Windows 8.1 might be released sometime this summer, most likely in August.