Anti-virus company Avast conducted a survey of Windows-based PC users the day before Windows 8 was released.
The results were devastating for Microsoft (MSFT) and non-Apple PC makers.
They were excellent, meanwhile, for Apple (AAPL).
Byron Acohido wrote up the results for USA Today and filmed a short video with charts. You can watch that here. In the meantime, here are the key points:
- The survey covered 135,000 Windows users split across three versions of the operating system: Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP.
- Only a very small percentage of users--9%--said they were going to accelerate a purchase of a new computer because of Windows 8.
- Overall, 16% of those surveyed said they planned to buy a new computer
- Of these folks, a staggering 42% said they plan to buy an Apple product--either a Mac or an iPad.
- Most of the Apple buyers (30% of the total buyers) planned to buy an iPad, suggesting that some of these planned purchases are motivated by the desire to buy a tablet. (Maybe Microsoft can save some of these with strong sales of the Surface.)
- The rest of the switchers, 12%, planned to buy a Mac.
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Last week, it was reported that Windows 8 sales are off to a weak start.
That's not surprising, given the results of this survey.
And the most ominous part of the survey is the implication that nearly a third of those who plan to buy a new computer plan to buy an iPad. Some of these purchases may be supplemental--the PC owners may keep their PCs--but they won't do anything to help the Wintel PC business.
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As tech guru Jean-Louis Gassee points out in his weekly note, the survey also suggests that Windows 8 has created a huge opportunity for Apple to convert a lot more Windows users to Apple products.
