It's been a rough week for Microsoft. Coming after reports that Samsung is dropping plans to release its Windows RT tablet, the research firm Gartner is now estimating that Windows 8 failed to spark PC sales this holiday season, resulting in a 4.3 percent decrease during the fourth quarter.
On top of that, PC makers can't simply pin the blame on a still-weak global economy, as Gartner suggested that changes in consumer habits are just as much a driving force behind the decline in sales as personal finances are.
Many computer makers were pinning their hopes on the belief that Windows 8, Microsoft's latest operating system, would cause a boost in sales for an industry that has fallen behind since the popularization of tablets and, to a lesser extent, smartphones.
"Tablets have dramatically changed the device landscape for PCs, not so much by 'cannibalizing' PC sales, but by causing PC users to shift consumption to tablets rather than replacing older PCs," said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner.
"Whereas as once we imagined a world in which individual users would have both a PC and a tablet as personal devices, we increasingly suspect that most individuals will shift consumption activity to a personal tablet, and perform creative and administrative tasks on a shared PC."
Total PC sales fell to 90.3 million units. Previously, they hovered around 96 million.
As more people read, watch videos, and play games on their iPads and Android tablets, the PC is increasingly seen in a more utilitarian light. It's still the ideal way to work, write up documents or reports, and use creation software, but media consumption has moved significantly into competing realms.
Another reason that Gartner gave which explains the decline is the fact that users are more intrigued by touch screen interfaces, something that's still not widely available in Windows 8 computers. As more devices like the Surface are released, perhaps then Windows 8 will see a bigger breakthrough, but what that'll mean for PC makers remains to be seen.
Hewlett-Packard (HP) led the pack of computer manufacturers by retaking the top slot from China-based Lenovo. But while HP saw no growth in its sales, Lenovo's computer shipments rose 8.2 percent over last year. Dell came in third place (down 21 percent), while Acer fell in at fourth (down 11 percent).
