PC makers cool to text OS:

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While Microsoft is touting next week's launch of Windows 8 as the savior of the computer industry, PC makers and analysts are increasingly skeptical that the new operating system will lure consumers away from tablets and smartphones.

Even Intel, which makes the processors at the heart of 80 per cent of PCs, doubts that Windows 8 will have a big impact on sales. CEO Paul Otellini said this week he's ‘very excited’ about the new operating system but expects the usual holiday bounce in PC sales to be half of what it usually is.
Otellini suggested that PC makers are being cautious about building big stocks of Windows 8 PCs.

“We haven't had a chance to really judge how consumers will embrace this in the PC space,“ he said.

Research firm IHS iSuppli expects the industry to ship 349 million PCs this year, down 1 percent from last year's all-time high. Meanwhile, Apple has been doubling sales of iPad tablets every year since the first model was introduced in 2010. In April-June, Apple shipped 17 million iPads, while HP shipped 13.6 million PCs; 488 million smartphones were sold in 2011. PC market is still big, Microsoft CEO Steve Ball-mer said last month, “and Windows 8 will propel that volume.“ Windows 8 is a response to the popularity of tablets.

It tosses out Windows conventions in favor of a radical new look designed for touch. With Windows 8, PC makers are releasing a slew of laptops that double as tablets, either with detachable screens or with screens that fold down over the keyboard.

PC makers began the year with the hope that a new wave of lightweight laptops called ultrabooks would provide a sales lift. But ultrabooks are still expensive, with most models around $1,000, and they haven't been compelling enough to overcome the growing popularity of smartphones and tablets.

Now, PC makers are in a tough spot when it comes to taking advantage of Windows 8, said Patrick Moorhead, a former chip executive who now runs research firm Moor Insight. Adding a touchscreen into a PC is expensive, and they're competing with tablets that are much cheaper. Meanwhile, Microsoft hasn't made much effort to add new features for mouse-and-keyboard PCs to Windows 8.

“If you're a user, you're asking yourself: `Why do I need to buy this new notebook, if my old notebook can still do what I need it to do? Instead, I'll buy a new phone or a tablet,'“ Moorhead said.