Ballmer Predicts: 500 Million Win8 Users, 350 Million More Win7 PCs
According to Microsoft’s Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer, hundreds of millions of copies of the upcoming Windows 8 operating system will be sold by the end of 2013. Also according to him, by the end of 2012, hundreds of millions of PCs powered by Windows 7 will be sold.
At the Seoul Digital Forum held in South Korea earlier this week, Steve Ballmer predicted that Windows 8 will sell more than 500 million copies from the time it reaches General Availability (the OS is expected to hit the shelves later this year) until the end of 2013. Ballmer bases his prediction on the fact that Windows 8 is “a dawning of the rebirth of Windows” and that “Windows 8 is certainly the most important piece of work we’ve done.”
Considering that since its launch in 2009 until January 2012, Microsoft sold more than 525 million Windows 7 copies, that is a pretty bold prediction from Steve Ballmer. It remains to be seen if Ballmer is right or if he is overly enthusiastic in predicting the commercial success Windows 8 will have. And speaking about predictions, Ballmer previously said that 350 million Windows 8 copies will be sold during the 2012 calendar year.
Also at the Seoul Digital Forum held in South Korea, Ballmer focused on the commercial success of Windows 7-powered PCs. The CEO said that this year, Microsoft hardware partners will sell more than 350 million PC powered by the company’s Windows 7 operating system. According to Gartner, the PC market is expected to grow by 5% this year; and that is expected to help Windows 7 PC sales.
So to sum it up, Ballmer expects more than 500 million Windows 8 copies to be sold until the end of 2013. The final edition of the operating system is expected to be released in the final quarter of 2012.
Ballmer also expects Microsoft hardware partners to sell more than 350 million Windows 7-powered PCs by the end of 2012.
UPDATE: Microsoft released a statement saying that Steve Ballmer did not predict 500 million Windows 8 licenses will be sold by the end of 2013, that his words were taken out of context. In the statement Microsoft says the 500 million number was actually the "existing Windows users and analyst projections of PC sales for 2012 that could be upgraded to Windows 8 when the time comes."
At the Seoul Digital Forum held in South Korea earlier this week, Steve Ballmer predicted that Windows 8 will sell more than 500 million copies from the time it reaches General Availability (the OS is expected to hit the shelves later this year) until the end of 2013. Ballmer bases his prediction on the fact that Windows 8 is “a dawning of the rebirth of Windows” and that “Windows 8 is certainly the most important piece of work we’ve done.”
Considering that since its launch in 2009 until January 2012, Microsoft sold more than 525 million Windows 7 copies, that is a pretty bold prediction from Steve Ballmer. It remains to be seen if Ballmer is right or if he is overly enthusiastic in predicting the commercial success Windows 8 will have. And speaking about predictions, Ballmer previously said that 350 million Windows 8 copies will be sold during the 2012 calendar year.
Also at the Seoul Digital Forum held in South Korea, Ballmer focused on the commercial success of Windows 7-powered PCs. The CEO said that this year, Microsoft hardware partners will sell more than 350 million PC powered by the company’s Windows 7 operating system. According to Gartner, the PC market is expected to grow by 5% this year; and that is expected to help Windows 7 PC sales.
So to sum it up, Ballmer expects more than 500 million Windows 8 copies to be sold until the end of 2013. The final edition of the operating system is expected to be released in the final quarter of 2012.
Ballmer also expects Microsoft hardware partners to sell more than 350 million Windows 7-powered PCs by the end of 2012.
UPDATE: Microsoft released a statement saying that Steve Ballmer did not predict 500 million Windows 8 licenses will be sold by the end of 2013, that his words were taken out of context. In the statement Microsoft says the 500 million number was actually the "existing Windows users and analyst projections of PC sales for 2012 that could be upgraded to Windows 8 when the time comes."
