14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft wanted more PC manufacturers to embrace the new Windows 8 operating system and bring to the market plenty of devices capable of making the most of its features.
While the idea behind this strategy may sound pretty smart at first glance, it may be a double-edged sword. Analysts warn that the huge number of form factors, brands and features are only causing more confusion among buyers who are actually forced to do a lot of research before buying a Windows 8 product.
Techaisle analyst Anurag Agrawal told InformationWeek that Windows 8 is a marvelous innovation, but the operating system is affected by the long list of devices capable of running it.
“They serve up a dizzying array of brands that causes confusion even within the knowledgeable and well-researched end user. [There are] too many individual brands competing with each other both on the OS side and on the device side,” he said.
At this point, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Asus, Acer and Samsung are the most important PC manufacturers already selling Windows 8 devices. Not to mention Microsoft itself and its own Surface tablets.