This IDC study looks at the launch of Windows 8 (Win8) PCs and related key product announcements as of mid-November 2012. This study starts with a broad assessment of PC demand in the United States and then provides an overview on features, pricing, and other critical factors that could affect consumer acceptance going forward.

"Now that Windows 8 is released, it is showtime for the PC industry. But if Black Friday and the month of November and early December 2012 are indicators of the fourth-quarter performance, then it is clear that Windows 8 is still not in the minds of consumers. Yet despite the struggle of the PC sector to recover from a very bad year and the uncertainty of the Win8 launch, the PC sector is putting a great deal of focus on a new generation of personal computers, facilitated by a new user interface, touch capabilities, new generation of processors, and other features and technologies and magnified by consumer demand for something new. With these introductions, Microsoft and its partners hope to stimulate what has been a dormant market with products that look great from a design perspective and fun to use, a goal that is reachable, despite enormous obstacles," says David Daoud, research director at IDC.