Microsoft Bollification of Vista Sales
Microsoft was quick to announce that they had sold 20 Million units of Vista but according to Seattle PI:
Given that the personal-computer market has nearly doubled since Windows XP launched, Windows Vista sales “probably should be more,” said Michael Silver, vice president of research at Gartner, a technology research group. The analyst said 51 million PCs were sold to consumers worldwide in 2002. This year, the research group predicts 96 million consumers will buy a computer.
Over at eWeek, Joe Wilcox has a great dissection of the numbers:
The numbers reflect more than first month sales. Contrary to Microsoft’s boasting, the real sales period for Vista sales is actually longer than Windows XP.
A license sold isn’t a license a sold. Microsoft counts licenses sold to OEMs in the 20 million number, but the number of actual Vista PCs sold is likely much lower.
Analyst PC sales figures don’t jive with Microsoft license numbers. Microsoft’s 20 million figure only makes sense when factoring in the longer time period—from Oct. 26 rather than Jan. 30—and the sales-in/sales-out situation.
He also makes the valid argument that the market for PCs is much larger than when Windows XP was shipped and you need to argue it in relative terms, hence the comment that Vista should have done better.
There was plenty of discussion prior to Vista being launched that this was an evolutionary product not a revolutionary product as Microsoft claims; this is old news, the real interesting battle is happening in other areas……
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