It’s still early, but the numbers don’t look so good for Windows 8, Microsoft’s bold new touch-friendly operating system. Net Applications’ stats show Windows 8 with just 1.72 percent of the market at the end of December. Just how bad is that? Computerworld reports that Windows Vista accounted for a larger share of Windows PCs during its brief and much-maligned reign.

On the other hand, the beloved Windows 7 managed to snag a 4 percent market share after just three weeks on the street in 2009. Today, Windows 7 is sitting pretty with 45 percent of all OS market share—a new high water mark for the operating system.

Windows 8′s woes aren’t surprising if you’ve been paying attention to comments by Microsoft’s partners. While Microsoft has been trumpeting the sale of 40 million Windows 8 licenses, those licenses include sales to OEMs, and early reports indicate that many early Windows 8 machines are still sitting, forlorn and unpurchased, on stock room shelves.

Newegg’s SVP of product management told ReadWrite that Windows 8 sales “did not explode,” though he noted that they’re slowly improving. Meanwhile, manufacturers like Asus and Fujitsu have publicly said that there isn’t much consumer interest in Windows 8 at the moment, and no OEM will disclose exact Windows 8 sales. NPD recently reported that PC sales actually declined during the first month Windows 8 was on the market.

There’s still plenty of time for Microsoft’s OS to find it’s stride, but it’s safe to say that Windows 8 isn’t the sales-generating behemoth Windows 7 was, probably due to a mix of the new-look interface and overall sluggishness in the traditional PC market. We’ll have to wait until January’s numbers are tallied to see if holiday sales gives Windows 8 the shot in the arm it apparently needs.

via The Next Web