Microsoft Sells 40m Windows 8 Licences In First Month

One month after the launch of the latest version of its operating system, Microsoft claims that it has sold 40 million Windows 8 licences.

Tami Reller, corporate vice president and chief financial officer of Microsoft’s Windows division, made the announcement in front industry and financial analysts and investors at the Credit Suisse 2012 Annual Technology Conference.

Windows 8 licences

“The journey is just beginning, but I am pleased to announce today that we have sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses so far,” said Reller who added that Windows Phone 8 is outpacing Windows 7 in terms of upgrades.

The launch of Windows 8 also marked the debut of Microsoft’s online marketplace, Windows Store. It says that the number of apps has doubled since launch and that some had crossed the £25,000 revenue mark.

However Microsoft’s claims are tempered by reports earlier this week that suggested Windows 8 adoption rates trailed that of its predecessor. According to NetApplications, only 1.19 percent of the computers it tracks for usage statistics were running Windows 8, compared to 45.54 percent running Windows 7 and 39 percent running Windows XP.

Reller assumed some of the responsibilities of former Windows President Steven Sinofsky, who left Microsoft earlier this month. Sinofsky became the president of the Windows division of Microsoft back in July 2009 and successfully oversaw the release of Windows 7, which many users of Windows 8 still prefer. He was present at the launch of Windows 8 last month and the timing of his departure was surprising.

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