Windows 8 Touch Screen Notebooks Could Receive a 10% Price Cut

Best Buy BBY is currently taking $100 off the price of any Windows 8 touch screen PC, resulting in a discount of at least 10 percent for most machines. According to DigiTimes, prices could go even lower. The supply chain publication said that, once the reported Windows 8 licensing fee discounts go into effect, notebook makers will cut their prices by 10 percent. The price reduction is expected to be applied to touch screen notebooks, though it could reduce the price of entry-level and mainstream models by more than 20 percent, DigiTimes said. It does not appear that the discounts will reduce the cost of Windows 8 desktops, many of which are being built with large (and somewhat portable) touch screens. Microsoft's MSFT sales jumped four percent in the months before Windows 8 was released. The company enjoyed another healthy increase after the new operating system arrived last October. Those sales are good for the Windows maker, but they have not yet created the hardware sales increase that PC manufacturers had anticipated. New computer sales declined last year for the first time since 2001. For better or worse, consumers seem to be more interested in Windows 8 than the new hardware that Hewlett-Packard HPQ, Dell DELL and other vendors are producing. While that could certainly change, many within the industry are bracing for more declines. Apple AAPL responded to the industry's struggles by reducing the price of the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display. It seems that Windows PC makers may now do the same. Follow me @LouisBedigianBZ