Surprise! More Consumers Want Windows on a Tablet Than iOS or Android

I've been saying for a while now that Apple fanatics are underestimating the demand for Windows on an iPad-like tablet, and that many consumers probably walk into Apple Stores to see the iPad but then walk out without one when they discover it doesn't run Windows or Microsoft Office. This leads me to further believe that Windows 8 will be enormously successful on iPad-like tablets.

Well, now it's no longer just a supposition.

Peter Kafka at All Things D reports today that a new survey from Boston Consulting Group confirms my beliefs about tablets and that 42 percent of US consumers would like to buy a tablet that runs Windows, compared to just 27 percent for iOS and 20 percent for Android.

Turns out Boston Consulting Group isn't the only one with data to back this up. A Forrester poll from earlier this year showed similar results: "Only 9 percent of consumers considering buying a tablet actively prefer an Android tablet — compared with 16 percent who prefer iOS and 46 percent who prefer Windows."

"When we survey consumers, it becomes very clear that Windows is still a very popular brand," Forrester's Sarah Rotman Epps told All Things D. "Apple has sold tens of millions of iPads, but Microsoft has sold more than 400 million Windows 7 devices. What that says to me is that there's a huge opportunity that Microsoft has left untapped so far."

Exactly right.

Thanks to Mike R. for the heads-up.

Discuss this Article 14

dgardfrey
on Oct 5, 2011
Nice, but unfortunately, it will be at least half a year before windows 8 releases on a tablet.
dgardfrey
on Oct 5, 2011
Nice, but unfortunately, it will be at least half a year before windows 8 releases on a tablet.
argraphics
on Oct 5, 2011
survey's mean nothing. People surveyed think Saddam Hussein had something to do with 9/11... People surveyed think there iPhone 4 is a 4g phone. People surveyed Think Barrack Obama is Muslim and not born in the USA... COLD HARD FACTS Show People buy/pay & Spend real dollars on iPads....
Sake
on Oct 5, 2011
Running an Acer w500 with Windows 8 Developer and allready liking it better then the iPad I had and the Galaxy Tab 10.1 I also own nect to the Acer. Make it the same build as the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the Tab 10.1 will leave the building like the iPad did. It feels like the next step in portable computing.
Sake
on Oct 5, 2011
Running an Acer w500 with Windows 8 Developer and allready liking it better then the iPad I had and the Galaxy Tab 10.1 I also own nect to the Acer. Make it the same build as the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the Tab 10.1 will leave the building like the iPad did. It feels like the next step in portable computing.
bzakharin
on Oct 5, 2011
Then why have Windows tablets failed so spectacularly in teh past?
yoshipod
on Oct 5, 2011
Its not surprising at all. People who are used to Windows think they want it on a tablet. The question is will they be happy with Windows 8 on a tablet when it finally arrives late next year. Most people probably don't think much about UI and have not thought through the issues with Windows on a Tablet. Will they like the Metro interface, perhaps. Will they be confused when applications switch between the Metro and Classic? Will they not like how their non touch optimized applications work on a Tablet? What about those who buy an ARM based WIndows 8 tablet and can't run Win32 apps? For many the answer will be yes, for others I think they are going to be very disappointed. Time will tell.
BananaJr
on Oct 5, 2011
The survey makes no mention of price. Can a Windows 8 tablet sell for less than an iPad? Will consumers pay a Microsoft tax if it doesn't?
ianaldrighetti
on Oct 5, 2011
@BananaJr Microsoft tax? There is no such thing... You are confusing Microsoft with Apple. @Zakharin Ever see a commercial for a Windows slate? I certainly haven't. People in the real world don't know something exists until they see an advertisement for it. @argraphics While it is just a survey, notice how Windows is #1, iPad is #2, and Android is dead last. Let's take Windows out of the equation, and the iPad becomes #1 and Android #2. Let's compare that to the current tablet market... Would you look at that? No one is buying Android tablets, and many are purchasing an iPad.
Mustang17
on Oct 6, 2011
Not sure why some are attacking the survey with such zealous intention. To see a prime example of bending the facts to portray things in a positive light, you could no worse than look at a keynote speech by some of the major tech players. Any one will do, and some are worse than others.
Mustang17
on Oct 6, 2011
Not sure why some are attacking the survey with such zealous intention. To see a prime example of bending the facts to portray things in a positive light, you could no worse than look at a keynote speech by some of the major tech players. Any one will do, and some are worse than others.
chuckb84
on Oct 6, 2011
Well, a year and half from now when such tablets are finally available, we'll see. In the meantime, there's the iPad and Apple has time to do at least two hardware and software revisions before any of these hypothetical Windows 8 tablets appear. So, all the breathless excitement over WIndows 8 (THIS time it'll be different!) is a bit premature. Windows 8 and the underlying hardware won't be competing with today's iPad, but one that's been much further refined. In the end, iOS and Windows tablets may coexist, and there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, it would be a good outcome to see Microsoft do a little better in that space than their current irrelevance in phones. Apple and Android need the competition.
digitalcoasttech
on Oct 11, 2011
Windows on a tablet that is the right size is the final component to achieving the paperless office. Read my blog about it here: http://digitalcoasttech.com/blog/?p=27
techconc
on Oct 12, 2011
I'm sure many like the concept of Windows on a tablet. However, to date, nobody has liked Microsoft's implementation of that concept. Will Windows 8 be different? Who knows? One thing is for certain, they are facing an uphill battle as they are essentially late to the game. We're not seeing Windows Phone 7 get much traction. Tiles are interesting and different (kudos for that), but certainly nothing game changing. The only way WP7 will upset Android will be through legal battles. Only if it becomes completely unpalatable for OEMs to use Android, will WP7 get traction. Why talk about WP7? Because that's the UI (Metro) that Win8 is betting the farm on. Microsoft will be challenged with keeping the required specs for a Windows tablet low so that it can possibly at least be price competitive with iPads. Though I find myself interested in Microsoft's direction with Windows 8, I'm still pretty far from convinced that it will dominate anything other than the traditional desktop where it already has lock-in at the enterprise level. They need to move quickly though because more and more execs are asking for iPads by name, not generic Windows based tablets.

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