Microsoft Corp’s plan to cut royalty rates paid by contract PC makers to use the latest Windows 8 operating system is unlikely to significantly boost lukewarm sales of computers running the system because they still lack hit applications and face strong competition from Google Inc’s Android operating system and others, market researcher Gartner Inc said yesterday.
Over the past year, Microsoft’s Windows 8 did not stimulate PC replacement demand as much as expected, Gartner analyst Tracy Tsai (蔡惠芬) told a media briefing.
To accelerate the development of computers running Windows 8 and Windows RT, Microsoft plans to offer discounts in licensing fees to contract PC makers, the Wall Street Journal reported recently.
“Price is not the only factor that caused disappointing sales of Windows 8 PCs ... Microsoft’s Windows 8 system is facing growing competition from Apple Inc’s iOS and Google’s Android,” Tsai said. “No applications are developed specifically for Windows 8 PCs and consumers do not know what is unique about Windows PCs.”
Amid enormous uncertainty and complexity in the mobile computing market, sales of Windows 8 PCs and Ultrabook computers fell disappointingly short over the past year because of changes in consumer behavior, Tsai said.
The situation is likely to deteriorate further over the next two to three years as consumers are increasingly able to access their personal data on multiple mobile computing devices via cloud computing technologies, she said, adding that PC vendors needed to devise a new strategy to survive.
International Data Corp (IDC), another market researcher, last week said global PC shipments shrank for the first time ever last year, falling 3.7 percent, adding that it expected shipments to drop 1.3 percent annually this year, marking the second straight year of decline.
Tsai said she maintained a conservative attitude about the growth of global PC shipments.
The three-year PC replacement cycle could disappear as consumers will make upgrading their smartphones and tablets their priority, instead of getting a new PC, she said.
“The PC market will still grow, but a very slow pace in the next few years,” Tsai said. “PCs will make up an ever-smaller share of the overall mobile computing market over the near future in the emerging markets.”
STIMULUS PLANS: An official said that China would increase funding from special treasury bonds and expand another program focused on key strategic sectors China is to sharply increase funding from ultra-long treasury bonds this year to spur business investment and consumer-boosting initiatives, a state planner official told a news conference yesterday, as Beijing cranks up fiscal stimulus to revitalize its faltering economy. Special treasury bonds would be used to fund large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-ins, said Yuan Da (袁達), deputy secretary-general of the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission. “The size of ultra-long special government bond funds will be sharply increased this year to intensify and expand the implementation of the two new initiatives,” Yuan said. Under the program launched last year, consumers can
Citigroup Inc and Bank of America Corp said they are leaving a global climate-banking group, becoming the latest Wall Street lenders to exit the coalition in the past month. In a statement, Citigroup said while it remains committed to achieving net zero emissions, it is exiting the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA). Bank of America said separately on Tuesday that it is also leaving NZBA, adding that it would continue to work with clients on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The banks’ departure from NZBA follows Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Wells Fargo & Co. The largest US financial institutions are under increasing pressure
TRENDS: The bitcoin rally sparked by US president-elect Donald Trump’s victory has slowed down, partly due to outflows from exchange-traded funds for the token Gold is heading for one of its biggest annual gains this century, with a 27 percent advance that has been fueled by US monetary easing, sustained geopolitical risks and a wave of purchases by central banks. While bullion has ticked lower since US president-elect Donald Trump’s sweeping victory in last month’s election, its gains this year still outstrip most other commodities. Base metals have had a mixed year, while iron ore has tumbled, and lithium’s woes have deepened. The varied performances highlight the absence of a single, over-riding driver that has steered the complex’s fortunes, while also putting the spotlight
Twenty years after he was a young, struggling actor in Toronto, Thomas Lo (盧瑞麟) is now the one giving young Asian actors their big breaks. He just had to go to Hong Kong to do it. The Chinese Canadian has been the creative director of one of the territory’s biggest TV broadcasting companies for only a few years, but is already making original English-language content to reach viewers around the world. “It was a bit of a full-circle moment for me,” Lo said. “You see more Asians, but you’re still seeing the same Asians on screen, right? We’re looking for more opportunities
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