WINDOWS 8: Do People Want To 'Touch' Laptop ... - Business Insider

Matt Rosoff Business Insider

Paul Thurott at Supersite For Windows has an interesting explanation for why Windows 8 PCs are selling so badly:

They cost too much.

The explosion of netbook sales a few years ago trained consumers to think that they could get Windows PCs for ~$400, Thurott argues. And now that the PC makers are trying to sell new Windows 8 "touch-screen" PCs for twice that much (or more), consumers just think the machines cost too much.

As an example of the lousy PC sales, Thurott cites some recently released NPD data showing just how low the average selling price is these days for Windows-based PCs:

?Windows notebook holiday unit sales dropped 11 percent, on par with Black Friday, and similar to the yearly trend, but revenue trends weakened since Black Friday to end the holiday period down 10.5 percent ? .? [Average Selling Prices, or ASPs] rose only $2 to $420. Touchscreen notebooks were 4.5 percent of Windows 8 sales with ASPs around $700.? Sales of Windows notebooks under $500 fell by 16 percent while notebooks priced above $500 increased 4 percent.?

Thurott unpacks a lot of the data in that paragraph, noting that:

• Tablets and smartphones have destroyed the netbook market--sub-$500 PC sales dropped an astounding 16% year over year
• The new "touch-screen" notebooks--the primary use-case for Windows 8--were only 4.5% of Windows 8 sales

Thurott attributes the weak touchscreen sales to the price: The machines cost $700 and up, versus the $420 average price for all Windows notebooks.

Consumers just don't want to pay that much for what they have come to view as a low-end machine, Thurott says,

And Thurott may be right that consumers now equate "Windows" with discount mass-market machines that should only cost $400 or so.?

If so, Microsoft and the PC makers will have a struggle on their hands to convince consumers that they should pay much more than that for "premium" machines that are essentially the same.

But there's another important question about "touchscreen" notebooks that hasn't been answered yet:

Do people actually want to "touch" their notebook screens?

I, for one, certainly don't.

I've been using notebooks for 25 years now. I am quite happy with the keyboard and trackpad as the input devices. I can set my hands in one place and barely move them, while doing everything I want to do.

If I had to touch my notebook screen to do anything, meanwhile, I'd have to lift one or both hands up.? I'd also probably have to brace the machine with my other hand to stop it from tipping over (there's no support behind it the way there is when you put a tablet on a stand).

I also actively don't want to 'touch' my notebook screen--because I don't want to get greasy fingerprints all over it.

I hate it when people come over and stab their greasy fingers into my notebook screen. The last thing I want is for folks to feel like they are supposed to do that.

It's true: In the early days of the iPhone and iPad, I was nervous about the greasy fingerprints all over those screens, too. But those screens can be quickly wiped clean with a swipe. And "touch" is a key part of the user experience.

Is it possible that a new generation of notebook users will want to touch their screens?

Yes, it's possible.

But I don't.

So even if touch-based Windows notebooks didn't cost nearly twice as much as regular ones, I wouldn't be touching my screen. (And I certainly wouldn't pay up for the ability to do it).

And I'm going to guess that a lot of other folks who have been using notebooks quite happily for years might feel the same way.

So I'll just put that question out there:

Do people really want to touch their notebook screens?

SEE ALSO: Consumer Reports Says The iPhone 5 Is The Worst Of The Top Smartphones

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/windows-8-touch-laptop-screen-2013-1

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