Update for Windows 8, codenamed Blue, as a pre-release version will be available this summer, but the final version of the modified operating system will be used in mass-produced devices only at the end of this year. In this connection, laptop manufacturers are pessimistic about their prospects in the market in the third quarter.
It was believed that the new hardware platform Intel, based on the Haswell processors and associated chipsets, in conjunction with Windows 8.1 will be a powerful stimulus for growth in demand for mobile PCs in the second half of the year. Now, manufacturers are forced to rely on an effect that will produce Haswell processors. According to associate, this may not be enough, because consumers have a wide range of smartphones and tablet devices suitable for entertainment and Web browsing, and not in a hurry to upgrade their PCs.
Analysts expect that the volume of notebook shipments decline in the second quarter. In particular, the agency Morgan Stanley estimates the decline in value of about 3% compared to the first quarter of this year.